


Steven Universe - Shattered Trilogy

by RealDone_Universe



Category: Ben 10 Series, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Steven Universe (Cartoon), Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-01-31 12:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 108,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21446311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealDone_Universe/pseuds/RealDone_Universe
Summary: [AU] Home World invades earth after the repeated failed reconnaissance missions and soldiers who've been defected. With Beach City destroyed, Steven, Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire and Pearl must find their way back to the temple and finally take the fight back to them.
Relationships: Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe)
Kudos: 4





	1. Beachfront

**A/N. The fic doesn't follow cannon, only taking some events that happened in the series and changing things about the story and characters as they go along. All we'll try to maintain is character personalities ... mostly.**

**Also, this is a long-running story and certain crossovers don't begin immediately, so please be patient.**

* * *

"**BEACHFRONT**"

STRIPS OF sunlight trickled into the temple, illuminating the living room where Steven and Connie practiced their instruments. They spent hours honing their skill, Steven on the ukulele and Connie on the violin, but their minds barely focused on it at all; their minds dwelling instead on the time they had together. They continued their joyful tune when a humming drew their attention to the Warp Pad as the Gems arrived.

"Oh, Garnet, you're back!" Steven said, rising to his feet. "We wanted to -," He cut himself off as he looked at them. "What happened to you?"

Garnet and Pearl stood on the pad, their bodies covered in bruises and their clothes torn apart. "Rogue Gem." Garnet said simply.

"This one was quiet," Pearl hissed, holding a gash on her shoulder, "Feisty."

"This is the eighth one this week." Steven said.

"Wait, where's Amethyst?" Connie asked.

"What?" Pearl looked around. "We were just with her."

Pearl stuck her head back into the portal, starting to panic when Amethyst fell right out, beer bottle in hand. "Ha! You lil bitch!" She chuckled, chugging down the gungy sludge within.

"Amethyst, what've I told you about drinking this garbage?!" Pearl took the bottle from her, gagging at the smell.

"What? This shit is great!" Amethyst grabbed the bottle, taking a swig and belching afterward. "Ah, fucking good."

"Language." Garnet glared at her.

"Whatever, grandma, I'll be in my room if you're looking for me." Amethyst took a few steps and fell over, passing out.

"She's that drunk again?" Steven asked.

"No, she's beat just like the rest of us." Pearl said. "The number of rogue gems popping up is becoming uncontainable - I'll need to look through the scanners and try to figure out why there're so many all of a sudden."

Pearl went up to the temple door, entering her room. "I'll need to heal up for a while." She headed for the egress. "Try to make sure Amethyst doesn't do anything stupid when she wakes up."

Steven and Connie turned to Amethyst, seeing her mumble in her sleep. "She's hopeless." Steven said.

"The Gems sure are going through hell right now." Connie said. "We should do something for them."

"Like what?" Steven turned to her.

"Ooh, what if we throw them a party! Something simple so they can kick back and relax." Connie grinned.

"Maybe at the beach?"

"Yeah! We can hold it tomorrow so they aren't preoccupied with a battle or something." Connie paced around. "We can invite some friends over - it'll be great!"

"Sounds like a good idea." Steven said.

"I'll go print out some fliers." Connie said, grabbing her violin and heading out. "Meet me at 3 and we'll hand them out."

"Sure thing." Steven said, moving over to pick his instrument off the couch.

"Mmmm, I love it when you're rough." Amethyst giggled.

Steven jerked up in surprise and turned back to her, seeing her still asleep. "The heck?"

* * *

STEVEN AND Connie split up through town and handed out their invitations, getting Sadie, Buck and their friends - except Lars - to agree to attend. Finishing his portion of the fliers, Steven backtracked through the city, heading to their meet up point where he'd agreed to meet up with Connie. He went up to a T-Junction, ready to cross when something red flickered in the corner of his eye.

He turned to his left, wondering what it was, but he saw nothing. Squinting, he decided to ignore it and move on, crossing the street and heading to their meeting point near the beach.

* * *

STEPPING OUT of the bathroom that night, Steven passed through the living room and headed for his bed, hearing shuffling in the kitchen. Glancing back, he saw Amethyst drinking her alcoholic concoction in the kitchen, shaking his head as she started muttering to herself and nearly stumbled over. Moving to his portion of the room, he climbed up to his bed and went into the blankets, patting MC Bear Bear's head before falling asleep.

As he slept however, a figure watched from outside.

* * *

STEVEN SLIPPED out of bed as quietly as he could the next day, warm clothes and sandals and heading into the cold early morning. He unlocked the door and slowly opened it, hoping not to awaken the Gems when he gasped as he nearly bumped into Connie.

"Wha! Connie, what're you doing here?" Steven said, lowering his voice and quickly heading into the porch. "It's thirty minutes before meet-up time."

"I couldn't wait, c'mon!" Connie grabbed his hand and ran on.

"It's just a beach party, y'know."

Connie ignored him and dragged him onto the beach when they saw Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst there waiting for them. "Hey, guys." Pearl smiled at them.

"Pearl! Hey!" Steven glanced around, tapping his fingers together. "We were just out taking a morning stroll."

"Yeah! Nothing suspicious or anything - pff!" Connie crossed her arms, avoiding eye contact.

"We know you were planning a surprise party for us." Amethyst said.

"What? How did you -," Steven looked at Garnet. "Oh, that's how."

"Look, we appreciate the gesture, but we're really busy." Pearl said. "There's just too much -,"

"For you two to do alone." Garnet cut in. "We'll help you set it up."

"Oh … well, it's not much of a surprise now, is it?" Connie said, her expression falling.

"Well, it's the thought that counts." Pearl said, giving into the idea.

"Yeah, and besides, I bet there'll be hot boys there." Amethyst said.

"Amethyst, we're not supposed to date humans," Pearl frowned.

"You're just mad cuz you haven't gotten laid in centuries."

"Uh, wha -" Pearl's face heated up.

"That's just cold." Garnet said blankly.

"Anyway, I'll go prepare the meat." Amethyst went back to the temple. "I feel like grilling up some steak!"

Pearl growled as Amethyst left and Garnet followed her, "I'll grab the plates and prepare the drinks." Garnet said.

"And I'll help you set up." Pearl said and raised her arm, opening the trunk of a small van nearby telepathically and revealing several plastic chairs inside.

"Whoa, you came prepared." Connie said.

"Well, I had Amethyst buy them," Pearl responded. "At least I hope she bought them."

"I used your card!" Amethyst yelled from inside.

"Oh, come on! That was the last money I had!" Pearl frowned.

"You should buy less glass figurines then!" Amethyst responded. "And you're always talking about not integrating with humans!"

"Well, I -," Pearl stuttered.

"Let's get started!" Steven cut in awkwardly.

Steven went up to the van and picked out a few chairs, soon followed by Connie who helped him start setting things up. Inside the temple, Garnet set up plastic cups and drinks on the countertop, working alongside Amethyst who marinated some meat.

Garnet moved up to the freezer and reached for a six-pack when she heard a loud explosion. "What was that?" She jerked up.

"What was what?" Amethyst turned to her.

"Something exploded." Garnet rushed to the window, seeing nothing outside.

"What're you talking about?" Amethyst went up to her.

"I…" Garnet paused. "Never mind, it was nothing."

Garnet walked past Amethyst, "Heh, and I thought I was the one who was a drunk." She went back to the kitchen.

Grabbing the six-pack, Garnet set it on the table when she felt the earth rumble, nearly falling over. She caught herself barely, almost dropping the beer and stood back up. She began to sweat, hearing the sounds of wails, screams and fires all around her. She looked around and started to hyperventilate as the temple collapsed and the stars in the sky started to fall!

"Garnet!" Amethyst grabbed her hand.

"Huh?" Garnet turned to her, breathing heavily and taking a second look. Nothing had actually happened.

"What're you doing?"

Garnet numbly turned to her and looked to the ground, seeing the beer spilled all over the floor. "What happened?"

"You tell me - you started looking around like you were possessed and you dropped the beer." Amethyst explained. "What're you on? Can I have some?" She grinned.

"I …" Garnet clasped her head, feeling pain searing through her skull. "I'll clean this up." She went to grab a mop.

Amethyst watched her leave then looked at the cans on the ground. "What a waste." She grabbed a can and took a sip, sighing afterward. "Great taste, but not strong enough." She shrugged and drank some more, moving back into the kitchen.

Grabbing a mop, Garnet began cleaning the spillage, wondering what it was that she saw. She was puzzled and looked at the gems on her palms, Sapphire on the right and Ruby on the left, confused as to what the vision meant. Putting it in the back of her mind, she decided to focus on setting up for the party.

* * *

SPREADING OUT a chair on the white sand, Steven stepped back and looked at the set up they had, seeing the chairs and two tables scattered around the beach. Grinning to himself, he called to Connie "I'm done over here!"

"Really? I'm not even half way done." Connie said.

"I can help ya if you want."

"No, I got this!" Connie snapped at him.

Steven chuckled to himself and went toward her when he felt a strange presence, stopping himself in his tracks. He waited, glancing around and seeing nothing but seagulls and the ocean nearby. He moved on, apprehensive and halted once more as he heard shuffling behind him. He turned back to the bushes, seeing nothing again. He frowned.

"Uh, Connie, I'll be back - I just gotta check on something."

"Sure, just let me handle this all on my own, it's okay!" Connie said.

Looking around subtly, Steven walked off the beach, keeping his eyes and ears sharp in case he noticed anything out of the ordinary. He knew something was off, having felt the same presence the night before as he slept. Leaving the beach, the boy headed up the hill behind the temple and went toward the barn.

He hummed to himself as he went, trying to seem more natural as he sensed whatever it was following close by though he could not see it. Coming up to the barn, he took a seat on a bench and started scanning the area, thinking of a way to expose his stalker. He went deep into his thought when he felt a shadow come over him.

He sighed, disappointed and rushed to the barn at a rapid speed, bashing it with his shoulder and causing the building to rock. The stalker stumbled as the building shook and fell off the roof, landing in front of the boy. He spun around, summoning his shield when he saw the follower was.

"A girl?"

The stalker, a girl slightly taller than him with paper-white skin, scarlet hair with a strip of orange at the center clad in a cream colored coat, gray pants, red boots and gloves, pushed herself up. Steven could tell she was shaken, but held his shield up, unsure of what she would do. He looked at her as she stood and noticed a gem on her left shoulder.

"You're a Gem!" Steven said.

"Heh, you're more intelligent than I thought." The girl smirked. "Guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a member of the Crystal Gems."

"Well, you didn't really hide well." Steven said. "Now what do you want?"

"Oh, sorry, I was just observing you." The gem said. "I probably should've introduced myself better - I'm Coral." She extended her hand, getting a suspicious look from him. "I'm sorry, I'm not from around here; I didn't mean to be threatening."

"What do you want from us?" Steven said, dismissing his shield a little.

"Well, I was curious about how a human interacted with the gems, but I wasn't hiding well enough." Coral said, gaining a frown from him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You were stalking me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry - I didn't know that's something humans didn't do." The gem cleared her throat. "Well, I want to meet the Crystal Gems."

"Why?"

"I've always wanted to meet them - I'm a big fan," Coral smiled, "Please? I'm too scared to go there myself."

Steven thought about this.

* * *

STEVEN STUCK his head out from behind the bushes and looked into the beachfront, making sure Pearl wasn't anywhere nearby. He saw Connie still placing chairs up ahead and stepped out with Coral, gesturing for her to stay quiet as they went up to the girl. Connie spread out a chair and heard them coming, turning to them.

"Look, Steven, I wanted to apologize for yelling at you back there when -," She saw Coral. "Who is she?"

"She's a Gem I just met." Steven said with a grin. "She's Coral."

"H-hi …" Connie said hesitantly, getting a gleeful wave from the gem. "Um, can I talk to you, Steven?" She pulled the boy aside. "What're you thinking?"

"What?"

"She could be hostile! You never trust rogue gems!" Connie said in a hushed tone.

"Well, she said she just wanted to meet the Crystal Gems and I didn't think she was dangerous." Steven shrugged.

"All gems are dangerous! We can't just -," Connie stopped herself as she realized Coral was prying over her shoulder. "Can I help you?" Connie frowned.

"Oh, I was just listening in," Coral said, realizing Connie was annoyed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Okay, you might need to work on that if you're interested in meeting the gems," Steven said, "Or anyone really."

"Heh, sorry - all I've learned about humans is the language, but I haven't really spent time with them." Coral said.

"Well, if there's anyone who knows anything about people, it's Amethyst." Steven grinned, "I'll just -," Connie yanked his arm, glaring at him. "Uh …" He laughed awkwardly. "Why don't you help us set up chairs? That could help us break the ice."

"Okay." Coral replied.

"We're gonna be having a small party for the Gems since they've been working so hard, so you could properly meet them then." Steven said, walking her up to the stacked up chairs. "Why don't you set up the chairs near that large rock over there?" Steven pointed to a large rock to his right.

"You got it." Coral nodded and the three spread out, continuing their set up.

Steven set down a chair and turned to Coral, seeing her having tossed the chairs around and broken two. Connie raised her brow and turned to him, gaining a groan. "This's gonna take a while."

* * *

GARNET STEPPED through the temple doors and into the archive room, her eyes moving over the plethora of books stacked on spiraling cases that lined the walls and different glass tubes tapering toward the ceiling. She grabbed a book and flipped through its pages, moving over the different notes taken by her and gems of the past on earth and other planets they'd visited.

She looked over everything that talked about the stars and any weaponry Home World may have developed. With nothing matching, she moved through possible magic and technology of any other hostile planets in their solar system. Browsing through notes about Alchemy and Transmutation, the demon Bill Cipher, the legends of the Valar, the Asgardians and other civilizations, she hoped to find something similar to her vision. She looked over notes of a being called Apocalypse who'd round up Four Horsemen, but she tossed it aside, looking anything else she could find.

After half an hour of searching, the Gem huffed and put the last book on the shelf, trying to think. Nothing in her vision seemed like any technology she'd heard of on Home World, wondering if they possibly created more since the notes were taken centuries ago. She looked at the cross-planetary clock on the ceiling and decided to give up, going back to set up for the party.

* * *

LIGHTS FLICKERED on across the beach as the party started in the late afternoon. Several people had come, more than Steven and Connie expected as they almost ran out of chairs - luckily Pearl overshooting on planning paid off. The two walked through the crowd of people as they tried to see who'd made it, getting waves and greetings from strangers they didn't expect to be there.

"Who would've thought you were famous around here?" Connie asked.

"I know, right?" Steven chuckled.

"Hey, Steven," Buck called out, walking up to them with Sadie, Lars, Sour Cream, Jenny and Kiki "This's quite the party you've set up - nice."

"Uh, it's just beach party." Steven said slightly nervous.

"One that got a shit ton a' people out here."

"Yeah, who wouldn't wanna come to a party hosted by the town hero?" Sadie said.

"I wouldn't call myself a hero."

"Don't be like that - you've kicked a whole lotta alien ass in the past." Buck said, "This town wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and those hot broads."

"They're the Crystal Gems." Sadie corrected.

"Told ya it sounded like a stripper name," Sour Cream said, gaining a laugh from Buck and a frown from Sadie.

"Wait, Lars? What're you doing here?" Connie raised her brow.

"What? You didn't think I'd come over?" Lars crossed his arms. "I wouldn't miss the party of the year."

"I dragged his ass over here," Sadie said blankly.

"Hey!" Lars frowned.

"Um, Steven?" Coral called.

Steven and Connie turned around, seeing Coral dressed in red two-piece swimsuit with a gold necklace and slippers. "Whoa …" Steven stared at her, annoying Connie.

"Damn, who is she?" Buck pulled up his sunglasses.

"She's a kid, Buck." Sadie nudged him.

"I don't mind." Lars said.

"Dude!" Sadie said.

"Is this how you wear these?" Coral asked, looking back at her ass. "It seems a little small."

"I regret lending her those." Connie huffed.

"Who's your friend?" Buck asked.

"Oh, this's Coral, she's from outta town," Steven turned to them others, introducing them, "Coral, this is Sadie, Lars, Buck, Sour Cream, Jenny and Kiki,"

"Welcome to Beach City," Buck held his hand out.

"Stay away from them, they're assholes," Sadie said, slapping his hand away.

"What? I just wanted to -,"

"And they're pedophiles too," Sadie started chasing them off.

"Oh, c'mon," Lars complained.

"Shut up, Lars," Sadie pushed him away, "Welcome to town! Enjoy the party!" She said to Coral quickly, getting the others to leave.

Steven watched them leave, and shrugged, turning to Coral. "Why don't we -,"

"I don't think so, Steven." Connie frowned.

"Connie! We need you to handle the drinks!" Pearl called out to her.

Connie huffed. "Coming!"

"It's okay, I'll just show her around." Steven said, getting an angry grunt from her. "Huh, I wonder what's everyone's problem."

Coral looked around her, seeing the people moving around, chatting and others swimming nearby. "I haven't seen so many people in one place before."

"Yeah, well people appreciate what the gems have done for them before." Steven said, walking with her. "They've been protecting earth for several years now and we wanted to make them feel appreciated." He turned and saw Amethyst making out with a guy by a rock in the distance. "Uh … why don't we grab something to eat?"

"Sure," Coral followed him.

Steven led Coral through the crowd of people, getting more attention from them as he headed to a braai stand. There, they found Pearl adding meat to a dish beside it. "Pearl?" What're you doing? You're not supposed to be working today." Steven said.

"Well, now, it'd be rude to have our guests cooking for themselves, wouldn't it?" She added a steak to the grill.

"But, they can grill for themselves, that's why we set up multiple ones." Steven gestured to the others, seeing clones of herself there. "Really?"

"Now, Steven, there's no need to worry yourself," Pearl said, setting some meat on plates. "Why don't you have some with you and your friend?"

"Oh, yeah, Coral, this is -," Steven turned and saw that Coral wasn't there.

"Where'd you friend go?" Pearl looked around.

"It's okay, I'll go find her." Steven received the plates and walked off.

Steven returned to the crowd and looked for Coral, seeing Connie manning the soda stand and seeing Sadie, Lars and the others chatting. He moved around, wondering where she could be when he saw her seated by the shore. He walked up to her and found her merely staring at the water, letting it wash over her toes.

"Hey, why'd ya run off?" Steven sat beside her.

"I wasn't sure what'd happen."

"Well, you'd say 'hello' then -,"

"Not that," Coral sighed, "I wondered what they'd think meeting a gem who was trying to look and sound human."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"Back on Home World, we had strict orders not to integrate with humans and since I'd broken that rule, I didn't think they'd accept me." Coral explained.

"Well, the Crystal Gems don't follow the rules at all really."

"They don't?"

Steven pointed at the gem on his stomach. "I'm living proof of it."

"You're human?"

"What did you think I was?"

"I thought it was just part of a disguise and I thought the Crystal Gems were simply spying on the humans here." Coral said. "But, how're you human?"

"Well, my mom's a gem and my dad's a human." Steven said. "I'm like a permanent fusion."

"But Home World said that wasn't possible."

"Home World was wrong." Steven said, looking off to the water. "We might be from different worlds, but I think we're more alike than we think. We hope, fear, love and all want something more than what we're limited with - or what they limited the Gems with."

Coral sifted her mind and took in what he said, watching the sunset with him. The boy handed her a plate. "What's this?" She asked, getting a groan from him.

* * *

"PEARL, THIS is literally fucked up." Amethyst frowned as Pearl dragged her across the beach.

"How can you be having relations with a human while we're working hard out here!? And out in public!" Pearl said.

"Actually, it was behind the rock and sure, yell it louder why don't ya." Amethyst said and Pearl dropped her on the ground. "Hey!"

"I'm very disappointed with you - what if Steven saw you? That's not something a child his age needs to be thinking about right now." Pearl said.

"He's fourteen, jeez." Amethyst stood up.

"You need to start thinking about people other than yourself, Amethyst." Pearl grew angry. "I'm handling the meat and Connie's helping with the drinks and you're just off in your own world doing … that."

"Hey, why don't you mind your own fucking business!?" Amethyst said. "I'm living my own life - I don't need you prying over my shit every second, for fuck's sake. And it's a fucking party, why're we working anyway, huh?"

Pearl sighed. "You never acted like this when Rose was around."

"Ugh, here we go again with this bullshit." Amethyst scoffed.

Pearl shook her head. "Just try to help out here, okay?"

"Whatever," Amethyst walked off.

"By the way, have you seen Garnet anywhere?" Pearl asked.

"I thought she was with you," Amethyst said.

* * *

THE COLD rushed through Garnet on that summer evening as the sounds of carnage grew louder and louder. In her mind, she resolved that it wasn't actually happening, but her body said otherwise as she felt every scream, crash and explosion all around her. She battled with this feeling, but it never escaped.

"What do you think it means?" Sapphire asked.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Ruby said.

"You know what I'm talking about Ruby."

"Are you sure it's me you're talking to?"

"I'm sure … I think."

"Look, I don't wanna talk about it okay? You read the books and found nothing, so nothing's gonna happen."

"You know that's not true."

"What do you want me to say then? That, 'yes, I think the world's gonna end and everyone's gonna die?' … I don't wanna believe that …"

"... What do we do?"

Garnet clenched her fists and sat by herself on the steps of the house, burying her mind in the noise of the party and trying to focus on other things. As she tried to do so, she noticed something else and huffed. "Your breath smells like a penis, Amethyst."

"What, really?" Amethyst smelled her breath. "Goddammit."

"You don't say things like that, Garnet." Pearl walked up to her.

"But it's so pungent." Garnet sat up as the other two gems arrived.

"Only to you, remember?" Pearl said. "What's going on? The party's been on for a while, why not come over?"

"Yeah, you're pretty popular with the guys in town, y'know." Amethyst ate a mint.

"Quiet, Amethyst." Pearl snapped at her. "Come on, Garnet, if anyone deserves to have some fun in all this, it's our leader." She grabbed Garnet's hand.

"Yeah, cuz I can't have any fun." Amethyst mumbled.

"Shh!" Pearl growled at her.

"I've got to tell you something." Garnet said.

"Sure, what is it?" Pearl stopped.

"Are you stepping down and making me leader?" Amethyst grinned then frowned. "Don't tell me you're making her leader."

"I had a vision earlier today, when I'd dropped that container of alcoholic beverages on the floor." Garnet continued, "I saw the world ending."

Pearl and Amethyst froze, sharing a glance. "What … was it some kinda movie or somethin'?" Amethyst joked.

"... I'd seen the stars fall and everything collapse all around me." Garnet clasped her knees, causing her knuckles to pale. "Everyone around the world was in agony, everything decayed and nobody could stop it."

"Home World?" Pearl asked.

Garnet shook her head. "Nothing I've ever heard or read about Home World could do what I'd seen. It felt more than tech, more like magic, but nothing in the archives about other planets could do this."

"Nah, it's probably nothing; I mean, your visions have been wrong before, right?" Amethyst said, turning to Pearl who shook her head 'no'. "Well, we've misinterpreted them before - I'm not believing some shit about an apocalypse or whatever."

"And what if it's real?" Pearl asked.

"Well, we're dead then." Amethyst shrugged.

"We have to find out what the vision means." Pearl said.

"No, not right now." Garnet stood up. "Steven and Connie worked hard so we could relax today and we shouldn't disappoint them."

"Garnet."

"Now," Garnet transformed her attire, turning them into a black bikini with see-through wrapper leaving her right leg open. "Where's the party?"

"Now, that's what I'm talking about." Amethyst grinned, leaving with the taller gem.

Pearl frowned as the two left, completely seeing through Garnet's sudden change of heart.

* * *

"AND SO I said, 'fuck it'!" Lars slurred, nearly falling over as he drank his beer and getting a laugh from the others.

"I like that story." Buck chuckled.

"Okay, okay, I think you've had enough." Sadie grabbed the drink from him.

"Come on, Sadie, let the guy have some fun." Jenny said.

"Well, are you gonna help me carry his ass when he passes out?" Sadie asked.

"No, and I don't know why you do either - you're the one who brought him out here in the first place, so you knew this'd happen." Jenny sipped her coke.

"But, I -,"

"There she is!" Buck yelled and several guys in the crowd started to chatter as Garnet arrived.

Several women in the crowd grew annoyed at her presence as the men eyed her curvaceous figure and plump breasts. She took a seat closer to the shore and some guys came up to her, vying for her attention as she tried to enjoy the cool air and sunset.

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought her here." Amethyst said.

"Well, she's just relaxing." Pearl crossed her arms. "Though despite the males bothering her."

"I swear, she's low-key enjoying the attention."

Lars went toward the crowd. "Will you stop for once?" Sadie pulled him back.

Steven and Coral watched the commotion nearby, not noticing Connie stewing in anger a few feet behind them. "I guess the Gems are really popular here." Coral said. "Though I wonder why it's only with the males."

"Yeah, I wonder why …" Steven said sarcastically.

"Hey, Steven!" Greg called out as he walked up to them.

"Dad, I didn't notice you here." Steven asked.

"Why would I miss the party, huh?" Greg said and turned to Coral. "And who's your little friend?"

"Oh, this's Coral, she's from outta -,"

"I'm a gem." Coral held her hand out.

"Well, welcome to earth." Greg shook her hand and turned to Steven. "Steven, do you know where Pearl is? Her clones are acting up aga …" he trailed off as he looked to the sky, walking toward the shore. "Uh, Steven, is it just me or is something happening to the sky."

"What?" Steven turned and gasped.

The stars were falling!

The chattering of the party turned into mutters of confusion as the people looked to the skies above as the stars started streaking down. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl looked up as well, studying them whilst others started to panic.

"The stars are falling!" Amethyst yelled.

"No, it can't be happening so soon!" Pearl cried..

Garnet remained silent however, looking closely at the lights and realizing some of the were growing! "No, it's something else," She turned to the others, "Meteors are falling toward us!"

Pearl constructed a bullhorn out of her gem and called the attention of the beach goers, "I'd like everyone to evacuate the beach in an orderly fashion; repeat, evacuate the beach in an orderly fashion!" The people froze as they heard this and immediately ran off, almost causing a stampede and knocking things over. "Oh, come on!"

"What did you think they would do?" Amethyst put a hand on her hip.

"Pearl, what's happening!?" Greg ran up to them.

"We're experiencing a meteor shower, it's nothing to worry about," Pearl said nervously, summoning a controller device an tapping on it frantically.

"What's going on!?" Steven arrived, followed by Coral, and Connie.

"We have it under control, don't worry." Pearl keyed in a password and pressed her palm on the device.

The ground rumbled and lights run up the statue of the temple building, causing parts of it to shift and release steam as different compartments flew open. Seven cannons shot out of the hillside, each of them turning up and toward the sky. They came alight and fired out beams of light that rushed into each other and scattered out into several smaller blasts that flew across the sky, smashing into the crashing lights. Smoke blew across the sky from the impact, immediately dispersing as the falling projectiles revealed themselves to be massive balls of steel!

"It didn't work!" Pearl yelled.

"Fire it again!" Amethyst yelled.

"I can't, they need to recharge!"

"Why don't you fuse? That should stop it, right?" Greg asked.

"It won't work," Garnet said, "We're not strong enough."

"Wha - we gotta do something, right?" He looked around, seeing Steven run toward the shore. "Steven!"

"Steven, get back here!" Pearl chased after him.

"I'm not gonna sit back while the city get's blown up!" Steven shot into the air, breaking the sound barrier and nearly knocking the others off their feet.

Steven erected his shield and projected it out, sending it several kilometers out and covering the entire beachfront. He grunted as he felt his energy immediately diminished, pushing himself forward toward the projectiles that were right on him! Letting out a warrior's cry, the boy collided with the meteors!

A massive explosion emanated from the crash, blackening the sky with smoke and sending violent winds that threw up sand, knocked everyone over and broke apart rocks on the beach. The metal rocks crashed onto the earth and the ocean, causing a small tsunami and destroying more of the land nearby. They came down on the town as well, hitting into people, cars and buildings and sending up rubble onto others.

Steven was flung through the air and crashed onto the earth, digging into the ground and ending up in a trench. The boy pulled himself out of the hole, covered in cuts and bruises, and he stood up, seeing people running about and fires all around him. He looked at the chaos, unsure of what to do when he saw Greg pinned beneath a large rock!

"Dad!" The boy rushed up to him and grabbed a hold of the rock, trying to pick it up. "Hang on!"

"Steven, stop!" The man said.

"I gotta save you!"

"No, I …" The man breathed heavily, "It's too late."

Steven stopped and looked beneath the rock, seeing Greg's blood splattered on it. "… I-it's gonna be okay, I'll get ya outta there and I'll find Pearl, she'll know what to do." He looked behind him, failing to see anything through the rising smoke.

"Steven … I can't feel anything …" Greg breathed hoarsely, coughing up blood.

"No, no, it's fine, I can heal you myself!" Steven said, "I'll, I'll - I'll pull you out and -,"

"There's no time, Steven!"

"Then I'll make time!" Steven yelled and lifted the rock, only to get knocked back as a rock crashed nearby.

Steven coughed as sand flew all over the place and pushed himself up, running back to his father when he saw a dark silhouette in the dust behind him. He froze, unable to tell what it was as the ten-foot tall humanoid form drew closer and closer. He looked at it then his father, quickly summoning a shield that immediately faded. He tired to think and ran toward the man again.

"Steven, stop!"

"I have to save you!"

"Steven …" Greg said, tears falling down his face. "Why don't you go find Connie? I'll be fine."

"No, you won't! I can fight it, I just need to -,"

A flash of light came out of the obscured figure, chucking up earth and causing people nearby to flee. The boy looked up and saw more rocks on top of Greg. "Steven … please …"

"Dad …" Steven choked up as tears streamed down his face.

Another crash sounded off nearby and the boy stopped, looking to his father then to the smoke all around that led into the unknown. Looking at his dad one last time, he ran off.


	2. Aftermath

"**AFTERMATH"**

LOUD BANGING and screams cut into Connie's mind as she came to, bringing a painful ringing to her ears as she looked around took in the chaos on the streets in Crawford Terrace. She felt around and realized she was being piggybacked by Steven who was running down a destroyed road. She failed to understand what was going on and she looked back to see large black Gems made of rock with triangular torsos, large jagged arms, small legs and red gems at their center laying waste to the street.

She shrieked when she realized what was going on. "Rogue Gems!"

"They're more than rogue gems, Connie!" Steven said, panting. "We've been invaded!"

Connie paused and looked to her left and right, seeing that several buildings were destroyed and people were screaming and running for their lives. Taking in the carnage, she turned to Steven. "Steven stop, we gotta help them!"

"I can't!" He said his eyes clasped in grief.

"What do you -," Connie writhed and held her shoulder, feeling cloth hastily wrapped over a wound that bled out. Looking down at Steven, she realized that he was injured himself, his hands covered in bruises and his chest covered in burn marks. "Steven …"

"I can't fight them! We have to find the others or we're gonna die!"

"But …" Connie tried to think when she looked up. "Steven, look out!"

A low whistle came from above and Steven quickly jumped back, nearly crushed as another black gem with a red stone landed before him. The being turned to Steven as he was mid-jump and grabbed the boy's torso, slamming him into a building and causing him to drop Connie on the ground. Steven coughed out blood and the gem rushed to punch him when Steven quickly summoned a shield and kicked the gem away.

Steven looked ahead and saw Connie laying on the ground, quickly grabbing a nearby car and chucking it at the gem that attacked him. Grabbing the girl, Steven ran down the street and leapt through the air, trying to fly, but plummeting to the ground in a nearby street instead. Connie coughed as she pushed herself up and saw Steven passed out on the ground.

"Steven!" She ran to him and shook him, getting no response. "Steven!"

* * *

GARNET FELL to her knee on a sidewalk in Boardwalk Street, touching her lip and feeling blood, and seeing the carnage the black gems had created. Pushing herself up, she continued to walk when she realized that she felt different, looking around and realizing her field of vision was narrower. Looking at her hands and seeing blue skin, she realized that she was defused from Ruby.

Panicking, Sapphire hovered into a market street, moving past fleeing civilians and attacking gems as she looked for Ruby. Looking left and right, she felt her panic rise when she saw the red woman rising out of rubble and about to be attacked by a black gem.

"Ruby!" Sapphire cried and grabbed a car door, freezing it and smashing it into small spikes she flung at the assailant.

Freezing the black gem, Sapphire rushed towards Ruby who saw her and came running, coming mere inches of each other and reaching out to fuse. The black gem however broke out of its ice prison and slammed its fists on the ground, breaking the earth apart and sending the two gems flying with a concussive wave. Sapphire pushed herself up and quickly ran back to Ruby when the earth started to split in half with Ruby's side collapsing downward.

"Ruby!"

"Sapphire!" Ruby cried, getting bashed by a black gem that knocked her into a building that collapsed into the earth.

Sapphire jumped down after the fallen gem, only to be grabbed by a black gem that chucked her into a telephone pole and sent her barreling into the earth. Sapphire skidded to a stop and coughed as pain consumed her when the black gem came after her again, lunging at her and punching her in her stomach, digging her further into the road. Spitting out blood, the blue woman fell limp, getting picked up the attacker who looked at her coldly.

The black gem began to crush Sapphire when she acted quickly and slapped her hand on its face, freezing it to its core and jumping back immediately after. Barely landing on her feet, Sapphire looked for the fallen part of town where Ruby was, but not seeing it anywhere. She huffed, realizing that she was in a different part of town all together and several kilometers away from the Temple which she could see barely in the distance.

She took a deep breath and clenched her fists, closing her wounds instantly and healing herself - releasing steam from her body that also cleaned the dirt off her. Taking in her surroundings, she flew off and began to investigate, trying to figure out a way to get back to Ruby and the others. Hovering close to the ground and keeping quiet, she looked around for more of the black gems, not ready to face the behemoths again.

Coming to a descent, she went to a corner and peaked her head into another street where two of the black gems were. They simply stood there, not attacking anyone like before to her surprise when she realized that they were holding two halves of a metallic circular device. Putting the parts together, the two gems tossed the contraption on the ground, watching it expand into a gigantic metal plate.

Sapphire squinted as she watched and saw the device begin to spin at high speeds, whirring and digging rapidly into the ground. Waiting for the machine to go underground, the two gems went their separate ways, destroying buildings and attacking people inside. Sapphire raised her brow and flew toward the pit as they left. She landed at the mouth of the ditch and looked into the massive abyss, seeing circuit lines on the sides of it that lit up all the way downward.

"What is this …?"

* * *

AMETHYST PEEPED into Sussex Road and stepped onto the sidewalk, looking back and forth to make sure there were no black gems around. She huffed and roamed around, worried about the other gems and wondering what was going on as she'd not encountered any of the black gems despite hearing their carnage in the distance. Seeing it as a lucky break, the woman walked on when she saw a beer bottle of the ground and reaching to pick it up when she heard glass break nearby.

Running up to the next turn to her left, Amethyst looked into the next road and saw a group of four teens sneaking up on a black gem! "What the fuck?"

"Take this you piece of shit!" A skinny black boy cried, running up to the gem and bashing it with a baseball bat that immediately broke. The monster turned to him, overshadowing the kid who began to panic. "Look, man, I was only joking, heh," He turned to a blonde girl nearby. "Now!"

Adjusting her glasses, the blonde and activated a detonator, igniting several bombs beneath the gem that rocked it slightly. Coming up to it from the side, a red-headed Asian boy unloaded a pump-shotgun on the gem, barely moving it and drawing its attention to him. Satisfied, he holstered the gun over his shoulder and kicked a gasoline barrel at the gem, confusing it as it looked around and realized the other two kids had done the same. The three kids, joined by a tall brunette girl carrying an axe, tossed grenades at the drums and jumped for cover as they exploded and enveloped the gem in flames.

Looking at the fires that remained, the kids cheered and congratulated themselves. "Yeah, it's not down yet at all." Amethyst said blankly, startling them as they realized she was behind them.

The black gem rushed out of the flames, coming down with a furious punch and Amethyst pushed the kids away, blocking the monster's punch and getting pushed back against the asphalt. The monster threw a punch at Amethyst and she flipped back, turning into a spinning ball and rocketing back at the black gem, causing it to fall back and crash onto a bus. Summoning her whips, she stepped toward the creature, not noticing the teens gawking in awe.

"Cool …" The black boy said.

"You're a Crystal Gem!" The blonde girl grinned.

"That's right kids," Amethyst smiled and turned to them, "Now, leave it to the profession -,"

The black gem bashed her with its shoulder, smashing her onto the ground.

"Motherfucker,"

* * *

STEVEN CAME to and felt himself in the comfort of a bed with white sheets, looking around and getting up, seeing the bandages wrapped around him. Taking in his surroundings, he realized that he was in a small clinic, wondering how he got healed and what'd happened previously. He began to stand when he heard the door open, seeing Connie walk in with a tray filled with medicines.

"Oh, you're awake!" Connie smiled and went up to him. "Thank God, I didn't know how long you'd be out."

"What happened?" Steven asked, feeling a searing pain in his head.

Connie's smile died and she put the tray down on a shelf nearby, taking a seat beside him. "Home World invaded," She began, "They sent gems to attack and they're still out there right now. You'd saved me, but passed out and I dragged you over here. I don't know how much time we have before they reach this part of town."

Tears fell down Steven's face, almost on their own as he felt pain wash over him and his body began to tremble. It all came back to him and he looked at his hands, seeing droplets pepper them. "Dad …"

"What do you mean?"

Steven began to breath heavily. "Dad, he … he's gone …"

"Oh, Steven …"

"I could've saved him … I …" He felt the blood on his hands from before, everything becoming fresh once more. "I couldn't save him."

Steven wept and clasped his head in agony, screaming in a mixture of rage and grief as he rocked forward. Connie put her hand over the boy, unsure of what she'd say to him as he bawled out on her chest. She felt everything he'd felt, letting him grieve over it and merely being there for him, not saying a word.

On a street corner nearby however, a black gem appeared.

* * *

PEARL SHUFFLED across the sand, moving quietly behind large heaps of rubble and steeling herself as she heard voices of panicking beach goers get silenced out by the invading gems. She looked out of cover routinely, checking to make sure she wasn't spotted as she made her way across the beach. She'd set her sights on the temple, wanting to reactivate its defenses and launch another attack on the attackers.

She took a look and moved to cross between rubble when she heard the cry of a child nearby, quickly turning and seeing a young boy wailing alone on the beach. Her eyes widened with terror as she saw him and a loud crash came from behind her as a black gem drew close! She panicked as she wondered what to do and she raised her hand, pulling the boy toward her telepathically and covering his mouth.

The child began to panic in her grasp and she looked down to him, gesturing for him to be quiet and calming him as he realized who she was. Pearl pressed her back against the rubble and held her breath, waiting for the black gem to move on, but it came closer! Looking around at the rocks lying a path, the large rock monster began its search for the noise it heard, turning rocks over to see where it'd gone.

Sweat beaded down her brow as she heard the gem draw near and the boy started to panic as well, mumbling under her palm. Hearing this, the black gem began to walk toward them, its heavy steps making the very ground shake and their hearts skip a beat. The creature went to them when suddenly, a man with a gun came up from behind and opened fire.

"Get off our planet, invader scum!" He yelled as he blasted the gem.

The monster stood there, unfazed and sharply turned around, grabbing the man's entire body and crushing him in an instant! Pearl bit her lip and quickly ran to a nearby rock to hide, shutting her mind to the chilling sounds of blood and bone splatter on the sand behind her. She slid behind another boulder, holding the boy close to her chest, catching her breath and hoping the creature would simply leave.

It didn't

Tossing the man's corpse away, the black gem became more aggressive, tossing up rubble and barreling on as it searched for its prey. Pearl glanced around as she heard the monster rush in toward her, wondering how she'd fight back with the child on her arms when she heard the carnage suddenly stop! Hearing her heart beat loudly in her ears, the Gem slowly stuck her head out from behind the rubble, seeing the black gem look toward another such creature, communicating silently with it.

Dropping the rubble, the pursuing black gem went off, following the other gem which had a metallic black disc in hand. Ignoring the occurrence and taking the opportunity, Pearl set the boy down and manifested a light clone, putting the child in its arms. "You'll be fine, okay?" She told the boy, getting a nod from him. Sharing a telepathic instruction with the clone, Pearl went onward, sending the doppelganger into the city.

Maneuvering her way through the rock and keeping low to the ground, even crawling under at times, the Gem made her way to the temple, avoiding the scouting black gems. She moved up to the side of the hill and inched her way towards the house, seeing the building's edge on the other side when another black gem came around the corner!

Rolling out of the way, Pearl went back behind cover and let the monster go on its way, exhaling and returning her focus on her goal. She looked up from cover and gasped as she saw several black gems patrolling the building along with black insect-like ships hovering around.

"What is going on here?"

* * *

SMOKE BILLOWED from cars and buildings in town as the black gems lay waste to it, continuing their rampage even after killing or dashing people out of their homes. Sapphire watched this as she went on, moving between alleys and hovering close to the ground as she monitored the creatures. Despite the seemingly random chaos, she began to find a pattern in their actions, keeping a close distance as she observed.

The gems were strong, exceedingly strong as they tossed up vehicles and even whole buildings in their rampage. They also seemed to be disinterested in people particularly, only attacking those who happened to be in their way or those who tried to resist them. The destruction itself seemed to be made in a circular pattern, thoroughly leveling the area before inserting the discs from before into the earth and letting it barrel underground.

She figured out what they were doing, but not what their objective was, only concluding that they were creating a contraption underground that needed the upper surface cleared in order to operate. The gem entered an alley as she saw two black gems approaching nearby and she heard the hum of a vehicle nearby, looking out of her cover and seeing a ship descend nearby. They went in and out of the ship, taking out strange objects with magical symbols on them and entering the streets.

She stepped back and hid behind a dumpster, sifting her mind. She had to steal that ship.

* * *

LASSOING A black gem with her whip, Amethyst swung the the creature through the air and smashed it onto a car. Panting, she stepped back when another black gem crashed down and punched her in the face, knocking her through a nearby store. The creature moved toward her when the redheaded Asian boy chucked a grenade at the gem, causing an explosion that didn't rock it at all, drawing its attention to him.

"Get outta our town!" The Asian boy yelled.

"Or we're gonna make ya!" The brunette girl chimed in, whipping out her axe.

The black gem went toward the teens who took their stances, ready to fight when Amethyst burst out of the building, smashing into the creature with a spin attack and knocking it far off. Turning back to normal, she frowned and turned to the teens. "What're you doing!?"

"We can take them on too!" The Asian boy said.

Amethyst frowned and got sucker punched by a black gem that pinned her down, moving in for another punch. Shrinking into a bird, the Gem flew above the monster and turned back to normal, grabbing a car with her whip and hammering it onto the being's head. The black gem broke out of the vehicle, unfazed, and grabbed her by the neck, running on and ramming her through a nearby house, breaking through the living room, the dining room and into the kitchen sink, letting plates fall on her.

Amethyst threw the plates off her and couched under the rush of water from the broken faucet, only to get run through the ceiling as the black gem lifted her up and tossed her into the backyard. Skidding through the dirt, the Gem flipped over and raised her whip into the air, wrapping the rope around her body. Igniting the whip's crystals with a purple flame, the Gem spun into a fireball and revved on the ground, kicking up grass and dirt. The black gem burst out of the building at her and she ran through it, breaking a hole through the monster and smashing it to bits.

Amethyst transformed back to normal in mid-air, looking down at her handiwork and taking a breath when a truck flung through the air and crashed on top of her! The vehicle plummeted to the ground and exploded, drawing the teens' attention as they looked on, wondering what happened. Kicking through the trailer of the vehicle, Amethyst dragged herself out and panted on the ground, looking to her left and seeing two black gems approaching from down the road.

She picked herself up and saw the kids still there. "Why're you still here!?"

"We told you, we can help," The brunette haired girl said.

"You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Amethyst yelled and jumped out of the way as a black gem rushed at her, letting it crash into a home nearby. Watching the building collapse, she turned to the teens. "Get outta here now!"

"No! We have people we wanna protect too!" The Asian boy said. "If we do nothing, we'll end up dead like everyone else!"

Amethyst panted and looked at the two black gems approaching her, wondering what to do next.

* * *

METAL CLANKED against each other as Connie walked down the hall with a tray, stopping by Steven's door and hesitating to open it. Sighing, she walked in and found the boy already on his feet, putting his shirt on with his bandages on the bed and his wounds completely healed. She smiled, wanting to point out how quickly he'd recovered when she saw the empty look in his eyes as he looked off to the wall, not noticing she'd arrived.

Glancing around, she approached him slowly. "Um, it's good to see you've recovered." She said apprehensively, getting no response as she'd expected. Clearing her throat, she brought the tray to his bedside table, "I brought you some tea; hopefully it can warm you up."

She looked at him as he simply stood there, not saying a word and still staring off into the distance. Looking down, the boy grabbed a cup and sat down, slowly taking a sip. "Thanks." He said in a hoarse voice.

She smiled slightly in response and grabbed the bandages off his pillow. "I'll just dispose of these." Bundling up the bloodied cloth, the girl headed for the door when she spotted something shiny to her right. "Look out!"

Connie leapt to the floor as a car smashed through the wall nearby and crashed nearby, sending tiles and bricks flying all around. Dust peppered down and electricity sparked as Connie pushed herself up, seeing the destruction around her and making her quickly shoot up. "Steven?"

"I'm okay!" Steven said from the other side of the vehicle, picking it up and throwing it out of the way. Moving up to her, he looked to the hole in the wall and saw four black gems walking towards them. "They're back!"

A black gem shoulder charged at Steven and the boy barely blocked it, getting dragged through the floor and sending out a concussive wave that knocked Connie back. The girl fell toward sharp broken glass when Steven quickly caught her with a shield, letting down his guard and letting the gem smack him out of the building. Connie yelped as the monster attacked and she rolled out of the way, running through the hole Steven was chucked through.

She ran toward the boy who'd crashed into a nearby house and another black gem grabbed her, throwing her aside. Steven burst out of the rubble and caught her in mid-air again, plummeting back to the earth and crashing into the road. Connie pried her eyes open and saw that she was in Steven's arms, the boy underneath panting as he was in the broken asphalt.

She stood, trying to help him up when the boy threw her out of the way and blocked an attack from the third monster that lunged at them. The girl rolled onto the front lawn of another house and a gem rushed at her when a portal suddenly opened above her, sending Rose's sword down toward her! Grabbing the blade, the girl blocked the beast's attack and leapt away, letting it ram itself into the ground.

"Where'd this come from?" Connie asked Steven who locked fists with a black gem.

"You're welcome!" Steven tackled the gem and knocked it down, picking it up by its legs and tossing it into the air.

"Heh, you've gotten really good at bubbling." Connie said.

"No, I wouldn't say that!" Steven grinned shyly, getting caught off by the fourth gem that grabbed him and slammed him onto the ground.

The black gem punched Steven repeatedly, digging him into the dirt when Connie rushed at it, flipping through the air and slashing it clean in half with her sword. Steven tossed the monster off and pulled himself out of a water pipe and Connie came up to him, helping him out of the hole. Steven stumbled and caught himself, feeling the new wounds and gashes liter his body. The two looked onward, seeing six gems approaching.

"Do you think we can take them?" Connie asked.

Steven sized them up then looked to his left, seeing more gems approaching. "Nope. Lemme just ..." He smashed his foot into the road, breaking it apart and dug his fingers into it, struggling and pulling out a six meter large chunk of earth. "Have fun with this, guys!" He chucked it at the six gems approaching up ahead, blocking the road and destroying buildings nearby. "C'mon, let's go!" He ran off, leaving Connie stunned.

"Damn," She ran up beside him. "When'd you get so strong?"

"I found a place to train while the gems have been gone on their missions," He laughed uneasily.

"Well, you've done more than train." Connie said and skidded to a stop as ten more black gems cut them off. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Guess we'll have to fight our way outta this!" Steven said, grabbing a car and chucking it at the horde of black gems up ahead.

The black army rolled in from both sides, ensuing a battle in which Steven switched back and forth from enemy to enemy, taking them out as quickly as possible. A monster swung at Steven and he blocked the punch, flipping it and chucking it at the others ahead, trading with Connie who stabbed through a rock monster's gem and destroyed it instantly. Swapping again, Steven flung a black gem at Connie and she jumped onto it, springing into the air and chucking it down onto another gem, impaling it and drawing it back with a tethered ribbon that ran around her arm.

Landing beside Steven, Connie looked up ahead and saw the gems increase in number. "We can't win like this."

"You're right!" Steven said as he snapped a black gem's arm in half. "Hop on!"

"Huh?" Connie raised her brow and Steven suddenly grabbed her. "What're you -,"

Steven burst high up into the air, catching Connie off-guard and drawing a scream from her when she realized they were falling back down! Summoning his shield, Steven dove into the road, driving the two underground and knocking the black gems back in a wave of dust and asphalt. Connie coughed in the small tunnel beneath the ground and jerked back as a sharp light came alight before her.

"Let's find the other gems!" Steven said, taking a proud stance and lighting their way with his stomach gem.

Creating a hardhat and axe made of light, the boy started digging through the rocks up ahead,leaving Connie stunned as he made his merry way.

* * *

"C'MON, C'MON, think, think!" Ruby smacked the side of her head as she walked through Cedar Alley. "Where could she have ended up?" She looked around writhed at the gash on her leg, quickly healing it and moving on.

She seemed to find a new wound every minute as she roamed around, still feeling the strain from her battle with several black gems that she had to escape from. She wondered where they'd come from or what they wanted, but her thoughts trailed back to Sapphire and what could have happened to her. She felt strange being in her own skin after so many months, almost stumbling at times as she was becoming accustomed to seeing through two eyes again.

She felt cold, alone and scared, desperately wanting to find her other half as quickly as she could so she could feel whole again. A feeling of dread soon enveloped her, a feeling of weakness as she began to mistrust herself and whether she could face the enemy on her own. Throwing the thought aside, she went onward and hopped over car, continuing her search when she felt a familiar breeze.

"Sapphire?" Grinning, she ran around the corner and found Sapphire knocked out on the ground before two black gems who converged on her. "Get away from her!"

She ran toward them as they lifted the blue woman off the ground and ignited her right hand when two more black gems landed before her and smacked her aside. Ruby tumbled across the ground and clawed into the asphalt, melting the tar and trapping the two gems in it. She ran past them and saw the other gems drag Sapphire into a ship that flew off. She chased after it and was pinned down by another rock gem, forcing her to watch helplessly as Sapphire was flown off.

Enraged, Ruby burned through the black gem's arm and smashed it, slapping the ground and melting the rock, turning it into a large spike beneath her feet that grew toward the ship Sapphire was in. She reached out, mere inches away from the ship when another aircraft bashed into her, knocking her further away from Sapphire's. Burning into the metal, she clung onto the ship and looked on, seeing the vessel Sapphire was in blast off toward a large tower in the distance.

"Sapphire …"

* * *

A TALL, wide-shouldered orange gem with white hair strode through the hallway of a ship, moving into the cockpit and dialing into a craft's dashboard. A holographic feed came before her with Home World writing on it and she turned on the transmitter, "Command Authorization, Home World Invading Commander Jasper reporting."

The words flickered and a feed came on after, showing the face of White Diamond on the other end. "What do you have for me?" She asked blankly.

"We've arrived on earth and began our operation," Jasper said. "The conduits are ready for you, Lord Diamond."

"Good, report back when the machine is complete."

"Yes, My Lord." Jasper bowed and cut the transmission.

Smiling to herself, White Diamond turned to the map laid before her in her throne room, seeing the magical ley-lines spread all over earth. "Now, it's only a matter of time."

* * *

CONNIE FOLLOWED a few feet behind Steven as he continued to dig a tunnel up ahead, humming a jolly tune to himself. She felt odd and watched him happily work, hesitantly approaching him. "Um, Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I am, why'd you ask?" Steven said, now whistling.

"Well, you …" She cut herself off, "Never mind."

"Okay."

Connie stepped back and Steven continued to dig, suddenly stopping and dismissing his tools.

"Alright, this should be far enough." Steven said and shot through the ground, entering the surface.

Connie followed behind and looked upward, seeing Steven hold his hand out to her with a bright grin. Hesitating, she held it and he pulled her up, ending up in an alley that seemed empty. Stepping into the street, the two went on when they saw a Home World ship up ahead, quickly hiding and taking cover.

"Guess we didn't make it far, huh?" Connie said, taking a look. Her face froze. "Uh, Steven …"

Steven raised his brow and looked out as well, stunned at what he saw. "Coral?"

The red gem watched as black gems unloaded machines and artifacts, getting impatient. "Move it, Bloodstones, I don't have all day!"

The rock gems brought out the last item and she entered the ship, ascending with it. "Now, don't let me repeat this again; find the Crystal Gems or I will have you incinerated!"

Steven and Connie watched in confusion as the gem flew off. Stepping out of cover, Steven looked to Connie and back to the ship. "She's one of them."


	3. Points of Authority

**"** **POINTS OF AUTHORITY"**

STEVEN'S EYES were wide with horror as he watched the insect-shaped ship Coral was in fly off into the distance. He followed it as it went on, heading towards the Temple in which several ships circled. "She's one of them …but, how? She was with us the whole time."

"Not when the Bloodstones arrived." Connie frowned. "She brought them to our location!"

"No …" Steven shook his head, stepping back.

"She was leading them to where the Crystal Gems were - that's why she wanted to meet them so bad!"

"No, she couldn't … there has to be some kinda of mistake." Steven began to breathe heavily.

"She's a traitor, Steven."

"No!" Steven yelled, startling Connie. He panted and glanced about. "N-no, she … dad …"

"She fooled us, Steven; she fooled all of us." Connie said, "But we have to find the Crystal Gems and defeat the aliens before things get worse."

"No, no, we should stay here and wait for the Gems," Steven said quickly.

"If we wait, more people are gonna die out there!" Connie frowned.

"But, we'll end up coming across the Bloodstones again." Steven said.

"We can take them."

"But, there're too many of them and they've got those machine things and who knows what they could do now." Steven said.

"If you wanna sit here and die, then go ahead, but I'm going to find the others." Connie walked off, leaving Steven behind.

The boy watched her leave and sifted his mind, reluctantly following her.

* * *

AMETHYST'S HEAD smashed through a wall as a Bloodstone drove her through a building, yanking her out and tossing her onto the road. She coughed blood and strained as she saw more gems approaching, pushing herself to stand when a grenade exploded nearby, drawing the monster's attention. Turning to her right, she saw the kids from before running up to her, the Asian boy cocking his rifle and taking aim.

"Get outta here!" Amethyst yelled.

"We wanna help!"

"Oh, you fucking -," Amethyst lassoed a gem in front of her and wrung the whip, setting it ablaze.

Pulling back, Amethyst spun the burning Bloodstone and whipped the gems around her, knocking them into buildings around her and flung the monster into the ground. Wringing the whip again, she turned the whip's crystals into massive spikes, stabbing the Bloodstone's body and smashing it to pieces. She pulled the whip back and wrapped it around her arm, setting it ablaze as she stared down the monsters around her.

The remaining Bloodstones rushed at Amethyst from all sides and the Gem punched the ground, sending out a wave of fire that washed over them. The monsters jerked back in the heat, damaged yet unfazed when crystals crept over their bodies, burrowing deep into the rock and collecting inside them. Amethyst sheathed her whip and headed towards the kids, letting the gems explode behind her.

"Whoa!" The blonde bespectacled girl grinned.

"Why didn't you just do that earlier?" The brunette girl asked.

"Cuz that move uses up my whip's fire and it has to recharge for a while after." Amethyst said tiredly. "Now why don't you kids get the fuck outta here already, huh?"

"Well, that's no way to talk to the people who just saved your life." The black boy said.

"Uh, what?"

"Yeah, we helped distract those monsters back there." The blonde girl said.

"You're welcome." The black boy smirked.

Amethyst scoffed and walked on, making the Asian boy panic and follow her. "Hey, why don't ya tag along with us?"

"Tag along with you?"

"Yeah, we could use a Gem on our team." The boy said.

"I don't need a buncha kids slowing me down while I'm looking for my friends, alright?" Amethyst said. "And who are you anyway?"

"I'm Jim," The Asian boy said and introduced the others, "that's Royce," he gestured to the tall, skinny black boy, "Mel", the tall, athletic brunette girl, "and Betty," the blonde bespectacled girl, "We're gonna show those aliens who they're messing with."

"A buncha dumb kids with stolen weapons? Yeah, I'll pass." Amethyst turned around when she saw two Bloodstones up ahead. "Ah, shit."

The Bloodstones noticed Amethyst and turned to her, seemingly ready to attack when one of them produced a pentagram shaped amulet from its palm. Amethyst raised her brow as the gem turned to the other Bloodstone and shoved the pendant into its back, causing it to lurch and go limp. The monster's gem went off and its body fell crumbled into smaller rocks that collected and entered the first gem's arm! The limb, now larger, shaped into a large cannon with the fallen gem's crystal in its center!

"Look out!" Amethyst cried.

The Gem rushed towards the kids as the transformed Bloodstone fired a massive red energy beam that gutted the road in its wake. Amethyst stretched out like cloth and wrapped around the kids as the blast collided with them and caused an explosion that rocked the neighborhood! The Bloodstone went into the smoke and searched for its prey.

Amethyst rolled to a stop in Waterman Street and collapsed in a heap inside a destroyed building, letting the kids spill out onto the floor. She panted and sat up, turning her body back to normal and seeing the wounds that littered over her skin. The kids looked around and saw that they were in a storehouse, picking themselves up and looking to see if the Bloodstones were nearby.

"That was so cool!" Royce said.

"Oh, shut up." Amethyst groaned, rubbing her shoulder, "If you kids left, I wouldn't be this beat up."

"But you saved us still!" Betty smiled.

"No, I didn't."

"See, we can work together!" Jim said.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, I'm not working with any of you, alright?" Amethyst stood up, steam exuding from her body as her wounds healed rapidly. "It's too dangerous out there; you should go home."

The kids suddenly fell silent, each glancing at each other. "Our homes were destroyed." Betty said. "That's why we're out here."

Amethyst's expression fell. "And your parents?"

"Oh, they're fine! They went on vacation last week!" Royce grinned.

"Son of a -,"

"Hey, just because our family's fine doesn't mean our friends are; we gotta help where we can." Mel frowned.

"Yeah, and that starts with killing those guys." Jim said.

"How many fucking times will I have to tell you kids - you're gonna get yourselves killed!" Amethyst growled.

"If that's what it takes, so be it." Royce nodded.

"And they won't get to if you're out there with us." Jim smirked.

"Right!" Betty chimed in.

"Oh my God." Amethyst face-palmed.

"What? You're not gonna be a pussy all of a sudden, are you?" Mel raised her brow.

"Yeah, I thought you Crystal Gems fight this typa a shit all the time." Royce said.

"I can't believe I'm being called out by a buncha kids." Amethyst deadpanned.

"Yeah!" The kids cheered.

"Fucking hell."

* * *

THE DOORS slid shut behind them as two Bloodstones carried Sapphire's motionless body through the hallway of the Home World ship. Blood trickled out of her mouth as she was dragged across the floor toward a cell door nearby, her eye looking onward dully as she realized where she was. Clenching her fists, the Gem froze the two Bloodstones and shattered them to bits!

Rising to her feet, the Gem held her hand over the rubble of the fallen gems, turning them into vapor and leaving the floor spotless. Wiping the blood off her lip, Sapphire began to sneak through the halls, looking for the control room. Having accomplished her plan to sneak aboard a vessel, she needed to find out what Home World's plan was and stop it before it was too late.

Coming to a corner, the Gem looked out for anyone in sight and went on when something caught her eye, bringing her back to a wall. Etched into the metal were yellow magical symbols that ran on like branches from the floor to the ceiling of the ship. She looked closely, having been well-versed in magic from around the universe which she'd read in the Temple's archives, but didn't understand any of it.

She frowned as she saw this, wondering why the magic looked nothing like the symbology of Home World or what the magic was for. Curious, she decided to move on, hoping that something on the ship would shed light on the matter.

* * *

IN ANOTHER part of the ship, Ruby burned her way through a wall, melting through it and seeping inside from the inside. Stepping on the floor and leaving the wall behind her intact, she looked around and began to sneak around, looking for Sapphire. She kept her back to the wall, not wanting to make her presence known and keenly looked out for Bloodstones she knew would be roaming around.

As she went on however, she heard a familiar noise, causing her to halt and stop at a corner, peeking into the other hall. Her eyes widened as she saw a group of ruby soldiers on patrol, each carrying hand cannons and wearing armor she hadn't seen before. Moving back behind cover, Ruby sat down and tried to think, her heart racing as she recognized her old friends amongst them.

* * *

PEARL'S EYES glowed a dim blue as she looked walked amongst the patrolling Bloodstones, moving by them as if she were one of their own. They made no move to attack her as she went and she ran her hand through one that approached, phasing through it like a ghost. Huffing to herself, the Gem disappeared.

Leaving her clone's body and returning consciousness to her own in the barn, the Gem began to pace around. She knew she couldn't fight through the horde of Bloodstones on her own, even with the clones which weakened the more she manifested. Pearl grunted in frustration and plopped on a chair near a pile of hay.

"What'd Rose do?" She said to herself and sighed. "It's always that with you, isn't it? Silly little Pearl too helpless to do things on her own."

She looked around for any weapons that may be lying around, smiling wistfully at the remains of the space ship she'd made with Steven. Her smile died as she wondered where Steven had gone, having witnessed Greg's death and been unable to step in as Bloodstones surrounded her. She now felt strange that Greg was gone, losing another piece of Rose along with him even though she felt he was competition for her affection.

Shaking herself out of those thoughts, Pearl shifted her consciousness into the two clones she had on guard outside the barn, seeing that the Bloodstones still hadn't found her. She came back to her body and started rummaging through the old machine parts strewn around. There had to be some secret entrance into the temple from there in case of emergency.

"If only I could teleport into the temple instead of going through all this." Pearl stroked her chin. "Too bad Home World was smart enough to set a magic barrier around the temple to keep my clones out." She began to pace around. "What do they want anyway?"

A bright light shone behind her and she turned to see Lion step out of a portal!

"Lion! Where've you been?" Pearl grinned and went up to the animal. "This's perfect! You can just teleport me into the temple now!" The lion walked away from her and sat down in a pile of hay. "Lion?"

* * *

CONNIE SQUINTED through a pair of binoculars as she looked outside from the window of a small store in Fenton Street. The Bloodstones outside mindlessly destroyed vehicles in their wake, but made no attempt to follow the people running away from them nor did they touch the buildings on either side of the road. As she studied them, Steven walked into the room carrying some clothes.

"These are all the clothes I could find." Steven placed the pile on the table, he himself clad in a blue pineapple shirt over a pink shirt, blue shorts and slippers.

"Thanks," Connie went up to him, "I was starting to feel cold in this swimsuit." She began to put on a shirt and Steven blushed shifting away. "Oh, c'mon, how's this any different?"

"Well, I wanna respect your privacy." Steven said, not looking at her.

"Pfft, okay." She chuckled and grabbed a pair of jeans. "I think I have an idea of how to avoid the Bloodstones."

"Yeah?" He said uneasily.

"They seem to be setting up some sort of machine that burrows into the earth and to install it; they have to level the ground first." She grabbed a ribbon and tied her hair up. "So, all we have to do is get to the highest point in the city and somehow find a way to contact the Gems or get back to the Temple from there somehow."

"Okay …"

"Luckily, we're close to the Bee Needle tower, so all we'll have to do is fight our way there and we're home and dry." Connie strapped on Rose's sword.

"Wait, you want us to go outside and fight those monsters?" Steven turned to her.

"If we want our plan to work, then yeah."

"No, we have to think of something else." Steven said.

"Oh, come on, Steven." Connie rubbed her nose.

"Connie, we could die out there."

"What's the cold feet all of a sudden? You were taking them out just fine an hour ago." Connie said. "If we team up and simply follow the plan, we'll succeed!"

"But you want us to fight them."

"If we have to, yeah." Connie raised her brow. "What's wrong?"

"I just …" Steven sighed. "I just don't want to put you in danger."

"I'll be fine, Steven." She moved up to him. "You can't blame yourself for what happened with Coral."

"But you warned me to – if I hadn't trusted her, the Gems would be more prepared for this." Steven said, his head low.

"You're right I did." Connie drew her sword. "But you can't mope around all day; we have to take the fight back to them!"

Steven sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Now, let's get out there!" Connie pointed her sword outside.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, that's it!" Connie grinned and turned to Steven. "Uh, Steven …"

Carrying a large chunk of the floor, Steven burst through the window of the store, drawing the attention of the Bloodstones nearby and leaving Connie stunned. The boy chucked the concrete at the monsters and landed on the road, erecting shields on both his arms. "Who wants some!?" The boy yelled.

"What the heck?" Connie raised her brow.

* * *

A BLOODSTONE punched through a stand in Funland Amusement Park, stalking toward civilians who fled as many others followed. Fleeing from the rides, the people crowded inside stores far from the monsters as they closed off the exits. They cowered in fear as they heard the heavy feet of the creatures rock the wood, making the buildings themselves shake though they were outside.

A young girl hid in the seat of a Ferris wheel close to the ground, biting her lip as a Bloodstone approached her. Raising its hand, the monster transformed out a cannon, ready to fire when a grenade exploded on its back! The monster turned and saw Amethyst, Jim, Royce, Mel and Betty who stood at the ready behind it.

"Get outta our town!" Mel yelled.

"Will you listen to me for once? I said follow my lead, not dick around." Amethyst frowned.

"What? You wanted us to just watch the alien kill the people on the Ferris Wheel?" Mel retorted.

"Ah, for fuck's sake." Amethyst shook her head.

"The Crystal Gems! We're saved!" A woman cried nearby.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, just stay back for a second." Amethyst drew her whip and lassoed the Bloodstone by the Ferris Wheel.

"Amethyst!" Mr Smiley called from inside a store nearby.

"Hey, didn't I say stay back?"

"It's an emergency! You gotta get to lil Bobby!" The man said.

"Who's that?"

"He's a little boy who's surrounded by those alien things by the bumper cars! We couldn't get to him in time!"

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." Amethyst groaned.

"Don't worry, we got this!" Jim said and ran off, Royce quickly following.

"Wait, what did I say about -," Amethyst tried to say when a Bloodstone crashed into her.

* * *

LIL BOBBY balled up on the floor in tears as the sounds of crashing bricks and explosions echoed all around him. Hidden behind a beam, the boy cowered in fear, awaiting his doom as two Bloodstones wrecked everything in sight. Jim rushed into the collapsing building and opened fire on the massive gems, barely rocking them. Irritated, one of the beasts turned around and swung its arm, deflecting the bullets back at the two boys.

"Look out!" Royce yelled, quickly dropping to the floor as a bullet flew past him.

Jim cried out as shrapnel burst through his right shoulder and he fell to the ground, dropping his shotgun. A Bloodstone charged up an energy blast, ready to fire on Jim when Royce quickly jumped to the rescue and grabbed him, rolling out of the way as the monster fired. The beam burned through the ground, incinerating the ground, a chunk of the wall and another building outside.

Jim and Royce panted as they looked at the incinerated wall before them and looked up to see a Bloodstone come down with a fist! The two jumped out of the way, but were caught in the concussive wave, getting smacked in the back with flying rocks. Jim pushed himself up, feeling his blood drip from his mouth and seeing Royce knocked down beside him.

He turned and saw the other Bloodstone drawing on Bobby, grabbing his pained shoulder and seeing the hulking monster before him. Jim rushed at the gem fearlessly, using his instincts from rugby practice to quickly slide under the behemoth's fist and between its legs! Getting to his feet, Jim ran toward Bobby and drew out grenades from his backpack, throwing them toward the ceiling.

The roof exploded and the Bloodstone looked up to see the building come crashing down on it - failing to see Jim slip past it. The rubble buried the monster and Jim came to Bobby's aid, lifting the child with his free arm and running toward an opening in the wall up ahead. He was home free when another Bloodstone got in his way, flinging a car outside wildly.

Jim stopped and looked around, trapped between the two gems that drew in on them as the roof above cracked even more. Pulling out a grenade, the boy looked for a target, not sure where to aim when a wall nearby broke into bits as another gem was flung into the building! Amethyst came down with a thunderous thud, driving her fist through the fallen gem's crystal and dismantling it instantly.

She panted and looked up to see Jim holding Bobby. "Heh, whaddaya know, you actually saved somebody."

A Bloodstone fired at Amethyst and she dodged the blast, spinning into a ball and bursting through the monster, destroying its gem and smashing it instantly. The Gem rolled back to normal in mid-air and flung her whip at the gem behind Jim, breaking it as well. Stunned, the boy watched Amethyst land nearby and dismiss her whip.

"H-how'd you defeat them so easily?" Jim walked up to her.

"I aimed for their crystals; it's every gem's weak spot." Amethyst stretched out. "I guess for these guys, it's extra weak cuz they're expendable foot soldiers."

A sudden applause filled the air as the hiding carnival-goers came into the open, "Go, Amethyst!"

"Wait, what? No, no, you're mistaken - I'm with the Crystal Gems." Amethyst said quickly.

"Well, we don't see any of them here!" A woman said.

"You're a real hero!" Another yelled.

"We would be dead without you, Amethyst; you did a great job." Mr Smiley came up to her. "You even inspired a group of kids to work with you!"

Amethyst looked around, surprised at the wave of admiration and praise she was receiving from the people around her. "Well, I was just doing what I can." She nodded and moved through the crowd, seeing the four teens standing behind her - Jim leading Bobby to his parents. Sighing, Amethyst capitulated, "Alright, you can tag along, just don't get in my way."

"Alright!" Betty grinned, gaining a small smile from Amethyst.

* * *

SAPPHIRE'S HANDS ran gently over the walls of the ship, a sense of evil filling her being as she tried to read the magical symbols spread through the ship. They were nothing like she'd ever seen, the feeling of dread and confusion mixing in with a deep malevolence exuding from every marking. She had to know what they meant and what they were for.

She kept watch as she moved however, hearing the footsteps of Home World gems moving through the vessel and voices of commanding soldiers giving orders. Coming to a corner, Sapphire peeped out and saw a pearl carrying cleaning supplies entering a room with a large door. Moving quickly, the blue woman flew into the room after the worker and touched the slave's back, freezing her in a block of ice.

"My apologies." She said to the unconscious gem.

Sapphire looked out into the dim ovular room which was completely closed off except for the door she came through and had nothing in it except for a large round table with a control panel and holographic projector. She moved up to it and saw similar symbols on its sides, starting to type on its keys to try and bring the machine to life, but nothing happened. She looked around, wondering what to do next when she saw a card slot at the center of the array.

"Great."

* * *

"YOU ARE weak and expendable, you are nothing," Jasper's words echoed coldly as she marched through the group of rubies. "Your only worth is your service to the Diamonds, nothing more."

The rubies were set up in rows in a Home World training ground, each doing push-ups whilst carrying ten ton boulders on their backs and keeping their bodies away from acid filled spikes beneath them. Many fell under the crushing weight of the exercise, a small number among them pushing through and excelling with ease. Ruby however struggled, her mouth quivering as her arms wobbled from the pressure and tears watering down from her eyes as she lowered closer and closer to the spikes below.

"Slacking off, are we?" Jasper came up to her and grabbed the boulder, pushing it down.

"No, stop, please!" Ruby cried.

"Begging? We can't have weakness in our soldiers." Jasper clenched her fist, cracking the rock between her fingers. "You do not beg on the battlefield." She pushed the rock down, piercing Ruby into the spikes and drawing a scream from her. "Your death means nothing, your life means nothing; you are nothing. We can replace you just like that if you were shattered and we wouldn't feel a thing. A meaningless life like yours only has one purpose; serving the Diamonds." She pressed harder as she saw Ruby's blood pool on the ground. "Now die like the insect you are."

* * *

"NO!" RUBY screamed loudly, panting as her thoughts returned to the present and she looked around her, seeing the Home World ship spread around her.

She looked at her hands that shook and felt her body tremble, remembering every lashing and beating she endured every time she failed a training exercise. Her breath accelerated rapidly and she balled up on the floor, muttering to herself and feeling a panic take hold. She stopped suddenly however and clenched her fists, pushing herself up slowly.

She couldn't prove Jasper right, she wouldn't prove any of them right; she wasn't weak. Seeing the other rubies enter another path, she continued on. She had to find Sapphire, she would find her.

* * *

"LION, I'VE got something for you." Pearl said softly, holding a plate of raw meat. "I found this in Amethyst's secret fridge - it's special." The lion opened one eye, but didn't budge and went back to sleep. "Come on, it's your favorite." She teased, getting no response from the animal. "Oh, come on, you dumb beast!"

Pearl frowned as Lion stayed still on the pile of hay, moving back and putting the meat on a table nearby. She was at her wit's end, having offered him a toy he'd liked before and now failing with his favorite food. She had to come up with something fast before they were found.

"Alright, Lion, what do you want? What should I do so you can help me out here, huh?" She moved up to him, only getting a blank one-eyed stare from him. "Oh, come on, don't be like that; you know what's going on out there." The beast stayed silent. "You can't be serious, you know I can't fight any of them!" She frowned. "Well, I'm not Garnet or Amethyst alright?" She crossed her arms. "Besides, I bet Steven would be mad you just left me hanging like this." She looked back at him and sighed, sitting back on the floor.

"Lion, please help me, I don't know where the others are. I need to know they're okay." She looked at him and he shut his eye. She glanced around. "It's always like this, huh? Any time the others are gone, I just crumble. I'm nothing without them. I'm nothing."

Her eyes fluttered as tears began to pour out and she cried into her hands, clinging to her head as she didn't know what to do.

* * *

STEVEN PUNCHED through a Bloodstone's gem and blocked an attack from another, flipping it over and throwing it at two others. Connie zoomed passed and sidestepped from an attacking gem, slashing its leg off and stabbing it in the chest, burrowing through its body and shattering its crystal. Spinning around deftly, she avoided the creatures' attacks and cut their limbs off, flipping through the air and ending up atop a car.

Looking to the large yellow and black tower nearby, she turned to Steven. "We're almost there, Steven!"

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Steven said when a gem bashed him to the ground with a shoulder charge.

The boy was driven through the asphalt and the beast assaulted him, pummeling him wildly with a flurry of fists. He erected a shield quickly, sending the attack bouncing back and he kicked the monster off his body and sending it rolling down the slanted road. Pulling himself out of the rubble, he rubbed his wounded body, feeling blood collecting under his shirt.

"C'mon, let's keep going!" Connie ran on.

"Yeah, sure …" He stood up slowly, looking back at the damaged city as the sky grew darker.

* * *

AMETHYST LOOKED to the moon above as it shone over the path of the dim street, feeling true darkness set in as most of the streetlights were damaged by the Bloodstones. The voices of the crowd behind her started to quieten almost instinctively, the fear in their tone rising as they made their way toward the Old Docks.

The beach was eerie this time of night, the deathly silence and wafting of the waves making Amethyst more on edge as she looked out for Bloodstones. "Alright, just keep close, alright?" She looked back to the people who'd now huddled together. Unbeknownst to her, the weather had also grown colder, making the people move a little slower. This was weakness she did not envy the humans for.

As they went on however, she started to notice red lights flicker from her right, making her curious as they moved around. She assumed they were cars at first, but then started to have second thoughts as they grew larger and came to a stop! Frowning, she looked to her right and saw several Bloodstones standing on the edge of the rocks high above, each shining the haunting light of their crystals on them as they prepared for an ambush!

"Oh shit."

* * *

SAPPHIRE SQUINTED as she watched Jasper punch a forty ton block of black metal in a large training room. She'd stayed and watched the woman as she worked out, waiting for an opportunity to take the access key from her bag nearby. The orange gem punched the rock one last time, bending the block in half and seemingly stopping when she went to the other door to talk to another gem commander.

"Well, you seem to be in good shape." The male gem eyed her curved waist.

"Cut it with the remarks, Commander, what do you got for me?" Jasper said sharply.

Sapphire saw the two gems talk and took the opportunity, placing her hand on the ground and sending out ice across the floor toward the bag laid on a bench. She squinted as she directed the rime toward the far off satchel, slipping it in and feeling around for the card. She glanced up to the two soldiers and went back to searching.

"Hmm, excellent job directing the Bloodstones." Jasper looked at a holo-map of Beach City showing different glowing points. "With this, we'll be done in no time."

"Why don't you take some free time off, Jasper? We could have some fun when this is over." The male alien said.

"The job is never over, lieutenant." Jasper handed him the device. "Now get back to work."

"If you say so." The man smiled to himself, looking at her breasts.

"I can have you replaced for your insubordination." Jasper frowned.

"Then why haven't you?" The gem said, getting a small blush from her.

Sapphire raised her brow as she heard this, returning to her search, grinning as she found her prize. "Got it!"

"Huh?" Jasper spun around as she heard Sapphire's voice, causing the gem to quickly slide behind the door. "Did you hear that?"

"No, what do you think it was?" The other gem asked.

"Hmm, I don't know." Jasper squinted, not seeing Sapphire who bit her lip in anticipation. "Well, whatever that was, you should get outta here." She went back to the metal block.

"Sure, was a pleasure." The other gem smiled and left.

Sapphire glanced back into the room and sighed as she saw Jasper return to her workout. The blue woman returned to the hall and looked at her palm, having shaped out a sliver of ice in the shape of the card she'd found in the bag.

* * *

PEARL WOKE with a start, looking around and realizing that she'd nodded off beside Lion. Rubbing the dry tears from her eyes, the pale woman headed for the door and looked through her clones' vision, seeing the different views of the beach and still seeing the Bloodstones guarding the temple. She shook her head in frustration and looked back to Lion, seeing him still asleep.

Summoning her spear, Pearl headed out of the barn and went toward the Temple. If Lion wasn't going to help retake it, she was going to do it herself.

* * *

PUSHING A large metal bar over the door, Steven barricaded the entrance to the roof of the Bee Needle, moving up to Connie who looked at the city below. The view which would normally be calming and beautiful was no desolate and grim as puffs of smoke and airships filled the sky over the destroyed cityscape. Marking the last spot on a map she'd gotten from a convenience store, Connie moved her binoculars aside and frowned.

"I knew it."

"Knew what?" Steven asked.

"I've been observing the Bloodstone's movements over the city and where they've been putting those discs and they form a pattern." Connie handed the map to Steven.

Steven cocked his neck as he looked at the points. "And what are they?"

"They're forming a kind of transmutation circle." Connie said. "Transmutation is a form of magic used in Alchemy to transform materials, anything from inanimate objects -,"

"Or people …" Steven realized.

"They could wipe out the entire town." Connie said.

* * *

SAPPHIRE SLID the ice card through the slot and stepped back, watching the machine come online and the hologram light up. Several symbols rushed before her, too fast for her to read and a projection of the map of Beach City appeared. On it were glowing points she recognized as points where the Bloodstones installed the discs, proving her theory. However, she realized they made a pattern.

"Terraformation!" Sapphire gasped. "They're going to destroy the earth!"


	4. Rose

**"** **ROSE"**

"WAIT, SO you're saying they're gonna kill everyone in the town?" Steven asked.

"Yes, though I don't know how far reaching their spell is." Connie looked to the city below. "They could've covered the entire state for all we know."

"Well, then we've gotta stop them!" Steven growled.

"Yeah, but how? We don't know where their central command is - it could be off-world even."

Steven frowned, trying to think when a bright light shone from above, forcing him and Connie to shield their eyes. Squinting, he looked on and gasped as a large Home World ship hovered over them, shining a red seeking light on them. The two tensed up, ready to fight when the ship's hanger door opened, revealing Coral inside.

"Coral …" Steven's eyes dilated.

"Well, it seems I was wrong to trust those mindless creature's to do their job without any guidance." The gem walked toward the platform's edge, eyeing Steven and Connie with a cold glare.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you." Connie drew out her sword. "C'mon, Steven, we can take her!" She ran on, slowing to a stop as she realized Steven remained where he was. "Steven?"

"Coral … why'd you do this?" Steven asked.

"What're you talking about, human?" Coral frowned.

"It's Steven, you know that." Steven stepped forward. "We met on the beach yesterday."

"And what of it?"

"You said you wanted to fit in; you-you said you wanted to meet the Crystal Gems." Steven said, confusion showing on his face.

"Steven, she lied to you." Connie went up to him.

"No, I know that's not true; she's different from the others." Steven began to breathe heavily.

"Steven -,"

"What you heard was merely an act; a ruse for me to get close enough to the Gems so we could launch an invasion at the heart of our enemy base." Coral said. "I was never your ally."

"That's not true."

"Steven -,"

"That's not true!" Steven yelled. "I know you're different, even if I didn't know you long, I know you're not like the other gems from Home World."

Coral paused, almost hesitating to speak when she raised her arm, coating it with red crystals. "Let's see if this changes your mind."

Coral jumped down from the ship an fired the crystals at Steven, nearly cutting him as he dodged and let the crystalline rock crash on the roof, spreading out and nearly hitting Connie as well. The gem landed and rushed at Steven at blinding speeds, swiping at his side with her hardened arm when he erected a shield and blocked it. The boy pushed back against the white woman, his plasma weapon grazing against the rock when Coral shifted quickly and crystallized her other arm, stabbing him in his side.

"Steven!" Connie cried, rushing to his aid when four Bloodstones crashed down around her, blocking her way.

Steven screamed in pain as Coral bore into his flesh, gaining a sadistic smile from her. "You humans are so fragile."

Shaping the crystals into a blade, Coral cut her way out of the boy, transforming the rock into a large fist and punching the boy to the floor. Steven skidded to a stop and Coral leapt at him with a jagged crystal, barely missing as he rolled out of the way and let her stab the concrete. The gem stood slowly, staring him down as she let the rock spread out and form into three clones of her!

The copies attacked Steven from all sides and he blocked quickly, barely keeping up with them as they moved rapidly, trying to cut him down. Coral swooped in to his blind spot and swiped at his leg, knocking him down to the ground. The doppelgangers assaulted Steven, stabbing repeatedly and ripping him apart.

Connie ducked and flipped away as a Bloodstone attacked her, nearly getting caught off as another swung wildly at her from her left. A third gem fired at her with an arm cannon and she panicked, raising her sword as she was unable to dodge. The girl slowly opened her eyes, expecting to be incinerated when she saw the blast part and spread out around the sword!

The blast shot out and destroyed the building behind her, burning through three other buildings behind her and leaving her standing on a small pile of roof. The other Bloodstones took aim and Connie flung the sword at them, stabbing one in the leg and catapulting herself toward them. Retracting the blade in mid-air, the girl flipped over and slashed a gem's crystal, breaking it apart and kicked through the remaining pieces.

Connie landed with a slide, eyeing the three remaining gems that prepared to fire. Extending her blade from its tether, she slashed a gem's crystal and flung her sword at another monster's cannon, lassoing it. Moving swiftly, the girl cut the gem's cannon off, causing it to blast another Bloodstone and destroy it. With one gem left, she chucked her sword into its core and dismantled it, moving to Steven's aid when more Bloodstones arrived.

"Bring it on!" She charged at them.

Coral watched her clone's cut at Steven as he was down and she dismissed them, looking at the boy who lay in pieces with his limbs cut off and his flesh torn apart! Walking to him as he lay dying, she summoned a crystal sword and stepped on his chest, eyeing him coldly. "You humans are all the same; weak and foolish." She chuckled. "No wonder you couldn't save your own father."

Tears began to flow down the boy's face and the gem laughed, raising her hand to deliver the final blow when a sudden burst of steam erupted from Steven, knocking her back. Coral skidded to a stop, looking through the sudden cloud of vapor when Steven flew out of the haze, his body fully healed and his eyes blazing with rage. With a wild cry, Steven punched Coral in the face, shattering her crystals and sending out a concussive wave the blew the building to bits!

Connie was blown back by the force of the blast, getting instantly bubbled by Steven who rushed toward another building. Shattering Coral's face to pieces, Steven drove her into another building, causing an explosion that tore through the ground and sent dismantled houses flying into the air!

* * *

AMETHYST CRASHED onto the sand as a Bloodstone knocked her down, quickly summoning a hand cannon and firing at her. She dodged barely and looked back, seeing the beam incinerate the sand and vaporize a line of ocean water behind her. Amethyst lassoed its arm quickly as it recharged its blast and catapulted toward the monster, kicking it in its crystal and knocking it down.

The gem panted and looked around, seeing the Bloodstones lay waste to the beach and kill people in their wake. She panicked, trying to think of what to do next when she saw Mel swing her axe at a Bloodstone that stepped through a man's chest, getting her weapon destroyed instead. Amethyst reacted quickly, balling up and ramming through the gem, breaking it apart.

"Mel, are you okay?" Amethyst shifted back to normal.

"Yeah, I - look out!" Mel quickly said.

Amethyst turned and was immediately bashed by a Bloodstone that charged into her, flinging her across the beach and into the rocks bordering it! The hill cracked and sent chunks of earth crashing down toward civilians below, causing Amethyst to panic as she tried to pull her way out. Breaking out at the last second, the gem threw her whip at a large rock when a Bloodstone smacked her aside!

Amethyst toppled on the ground and quickly got up, only to see the rubble come down and crush the people beneath. "No!"

The gem froze in horror as she looked at the destruction around her, not noticing the Bloodstone take aim at her! "Amethyst look out!" Mr Smiley cried and pushed her out of the way.

Amethyst fell back and realized what happened. "Mr Smiley!"

The man sighed and smiled wistfully. "Protect those kids for me, alright?"

"Mr Smiley!" Amethyst reached out for him, only to get knocked back as the Bloodstone fired at the man, incinerating him instantly!

Amethyst panted as she saw the man's ashes fall to the ground, her eyes wide with terror as she saw people getting killed everywhere. Dread took over as she tried to think, realizing she was truly outnumbered by the monsters that culled the people she'd tried to protect. Seeing Jim, Royce, Mel and Betty get surrounded by the mindless soldiers, she began to lose hope.

With a sudden burst of determination however, she ran on, evading the Bloodstone that fired at her and shape-shifting into a ball. Amethyst raced across the beach, looking away from the people dying around her and aiming for the four kids ahead. Leaping through the air, the Gem smashed through the monsters like a pinball, turning back to normal in mid-air and looking down at the children below.

"Hang on!" She cried and spread out into a giant cloth.

Wrapping around the four like a blanket, the gem shaped into a large sphere again and rolled across the beach, evading a Bloodstones that tried to attack her. Amethyst looked back at the people being murdered on the beach and shut her eyes to it, focusing on protecting the kids and heading back to the city above.

* * *

SAPPHIRE STARED at the holo-projection in terror, the glowing symbols striking fear in her as one of the terraformation points was at the Temple itself! "If they terraform the earth, all life would cease to exist." She stepped back, wondering what to do next when she bumped into someone!

"What is a Sapphire doing on my ship?" A familiar voice said.

Sapphire froze as she heard this, turning around to see the Gem Commander standing behind her. "Jasper!"

"How do you know me?" The orange gem raised her brow, squinting when she realized. "What a minute! You're one of the Crystal Gems!"

"It's funny how you forget me after all that happened." Sapphire glanced around the room, trying to find an exit.

"What do ya want? We all fucking look the same." Jasper chuckled. "It's a shame a gem of your stature lowered yourself to join a group of rebels that pop up every day and get shattered the next."

"Well, we're different from the others." Sapphire said, ice spreading out beneath her feet.

"That's true." Jasper walked up to her. "But a day or a few thousand years is irrelevant; you will be snuffed out like the rest!"

Jasper leapt at Sapphire with a punch and the blue gem zoomed out of the way, letting her crash toward the ground when the gem stopped in place. Catching herself before hitting the ship, the orange gem hovered to the ground, sighing and shaking her wrist. "Hmm, careful not to damage everything around you? That's different." Sapphire frowned.

"Heh, well unlike you, Home World evolves." Jasper jogged in place.

"Well, the change is minor; I can still take you on."

"Oh really? While you're not fused with that fucking clod Ruby?" Jasper smirked.

"What?"

In the blink of an eye, Jasper shot up to Sapphire and knocked her down with a powerful punch, sending out an impact wave. The wave stopped before it could hit the ship's walls however and went back into the orange gem's arm, sending ripples of energy through her body that gave her a wicked grin. Sapphire lay on the ground stunned and the orange stepped on her.

"No damage? But how?" Sapphire panted.

"Kinetic energy; why let it go to waste when I can use it to amp myself up instead." Jasper said plainly. "Now, let's have a talk." Jasper planted her foot through Sapphire, causing her body to explode into vapor! She walked through the haze and looked at the fallen gem's crystal on the floor, picking it up and leaving the room.

* * *

PEARL HOVERED in the lotus position on the hill above the Temple, focusing her mind as she led an ethereal clone to the door of the building. The apparition pressed her hands on the door, causing magical symbols to ripple to life and allowing her to read them. The patrolling Bloodstones roamed around the building, completely unaware of the gem as she tried to break the code.

"Now, Pearl, breathe." She sent her consciousness into the clone. "What did Garnet say about magical seals?"

Pearl looked closely at the symbols that spread out, her finger tips gliding along with them as they went out like water in a stream. She felt the magic run through them, one deeply malevolent yet familiar as Garnet had once taught her and Amethyst how to break them - though Amethyst completely ignored her. She followed the pattern and unwinded the bindings; the magic of power, darkness and reverence to Svartalfheim.

She twisted her hand, turning the symbols into a swirl and causing them to disappear. "Perfect!"

The clone phased through the door and entered the living room, her smile immediately vanishing as she saw the damage the Bloodstones had caused as furniture was thrown around and the floor and walls were broken through. Fighting her anger, she headed for the Temple door, concentrating on the inner weapons control room so she could retake control of the building. Shining her crystal on the star lock, she entered the bunker.

The gem stepped into the massive white concourse littered with round platforms and tubes that ran from the floor to the ceiling. She sighed with relief as the place seemed untouched, frowning as she remembered something and quickly ran out of the room. Accessing the door from the other side again, Pearl went down to Rose's sanctuary.

Stepping through the Temple doors, Pearl walked into the large marble courtyard lined with pillars, roses and statues of rose. She calmed down as she entered the chambers, looking at the images of the Crystal Gems' founder and starting to feel at ease. With her mind cleared, she began to leave when she noticed something at the corner of her eye.

Spinning back around, Pearl looked to the wall to her right and started to panic as she saw a crack spreading across it. Running down the pathway toward the center of the hall, the gem realized that a crack was spreading beneath the plants lining the walls. She reached the center of the room where a large statue of Rose resting under a skylight stood and froze in horror as she saw a large hole in the wall behind it!

Stepping into the broken path, the gem looked on as Bloodstones destroyed statues of deceased Crystal Gems in a backroom. Tears watered her eyes, quickly drying as rage filled Pearl and she started to materialize. Entering the ethereal clone and disappearing from the barn outside, the Crystal Gem summoned a spear and stood before the monsters.

"How dare you desecrate the memories of my fallen sisters!" Pearl yelled, drawing the Bloodstones' attention. "I will make you pay for what you have done!"

Manifesting six clones, Pearl dashed towards the Bloodstones and fought them head on!

* * *

THE SOUNDS of panic filled the air as people fled from the scene of Steven and Coral's battle; several buildings and cars being crumpled together like paper as debris filled the streets. Coral's headless body lay beneath a heap of rubble, seemingly dead when her shoulder crystal glowed and her body began to regenerate. With her eyes forming and her face becoming whole again, the white woman pushed herself up, crystallizing the rubble above her and shattering it instantly.

The gem got up, grunting as pain washed over her body and caused her to move sluggishly. Despite regeneration, her kind still felt pain, pain that if built up enough, would immobilize her and cause her crystal to shatter and end her life. She knew this and tried to think of a way to quickly kill Steven, a gem who somehow managed to withstand enough damage to shatter most she'd come across.

She looked around, apprehensive when Steven came rushing at her from out of nowhere and swung at her head. The gem ducked, dodging barely and seeing the force of his punch destroy a road behind her. She reacted quickly, calming herself and caught the boy's punch, locking fists with him and pushing back.

Steven quickly overpowered her, bringing her to her knees and driving her into the ground. The earth exploded from his strength, sending lines of dust rising several meters high and destroying the remaining street nearby. Connie saw the wind blow from the next street, quickly getting up and running toward it.

Coral stopped at a nearby bar, having barely ran away from Steven before he'd have destroyed her. The boy stood in the haze of dust and smoke, turning toward her and bathed in steam and pink energy. She grunted as she tried to think, holding her left arm that was completely torn apart.

Steven came rushing at her again, ready to strike when the gem ran up to him as well, quickly sliding beneath him and cutting his right leg with a crystallized arm. The boy staggered, nearly falling from the large gash on his leg, but lunged at her again when she swiftly went under again and stabbed him! Coral knocked Steven down and drove the crystallized blade into his body, drawing a scream from him.

"You're strong, exceedingly strong, but careless." Coral regenerated her destroyed arm, writhing as her crystal sparked. "Your crystal can only take so much before you shatter, and you are at your limit."

The white gem summoned another crystal blade and moved to stab him when Rose's sword flew through the air and impaled her side! The weapon carried Coral through the air and drove her into a building's support beam, disintegrating her instantly and sending her crystal plopping on the ground! Connie stood a few feet away and retracted the sword, running to Steven who pulled out the blade that'd stabbed him.

"Steven!" Connie knelt beside him. "You're bleeding!"

"Yeah, well she did worse to me on the roof." Steven held his stomach and healed the stab wound, only to spit out blood again.

"Steven!"

"I guess she was right." Steven wheezed. "I'm dying."

"Not on my watch, c'mon!" Connie lifted Steven up, struggling under his weight. "I won't let you die here."

* * *

SAPPHIRE'S EYE opened slowly, her mind foggy as she came to and took in the area around her, realizing that there were several of her! She shook her head, realizing that they were mere reflections that seemed to be all around, like she was surrounded by glass. She tried to move, but failed, feeling her hands feet being held back by an unseen force, a force that pulled her head up and made her look forward.

"Everything is made of atoms; tiny particles that hold everything together and keep the balance." Jasper's voice came, almost disembodied until the orange figure entered the dark space. "But pull at them enough," she grabbed the air to her right, bending it like glass and drawing a bloodcurdling scream from Sapphire. "And everything falls apart."

Sapphire screamed as she felt her body being pulled at from all sides, looking around and seeing her flesh being slowly ripped from her arms and legs! She gritted her teeth, not giving in to the pain, but was immediately overwhelmed as her arms started to disintegrate into particles of light. She cried out in agony as her body was torn, yet held together by the strange force, keeping her in constant pain.

"I will break you, Sapphire." Jasper moved up to her. "You know this. I will rip you apart slowly, but surely even if it takes a thousand more years; I will show you true agony unless you tell me what I want. Where are the Crystal Gems?"

Sapphire gnashed her teeth, fighting through the pressure to look Jasper in the eye. "Go ahead, tear me up like all the other Sapphire's you've played with, but I'll never talk."

Jasper chuckled. "So you did know. Heh, I'm impressed by how much you knew while being bound by Blue Diamond." She paced around. "I have tortured Sapphires time and time again after they have rebelled and they all broke. There are many ways to break a gem."

"Well, you're going to be here a long time before I betray my friends! I would die for them!"

"Is that so?" Jasper smiled. "Maybe one in particular, the others - they just come with the set." She gained a frown from her. "We all know about your fusion with another gem type; a fusion forbade by the Diamonds themselves. You knew the untold powers forbidden fusions would bring and brought that power to that renegade Rose."

"It's not like that!" Sapphire growled.

"Everyone seeks power." Jasper said. "The power to rule, the power to conquer, or a shield to hide behind."

"Stop talking."

"You're insignificant, like every other replaceable sapphire used as tools in battle." Jasper moved up to her. "You're weak; finding your only purpose when bound to another like you were when next to Blue Diamond."

"Shut up!"

Jasper pulled against the glass, tearing Sapphire's back apart. "I know you all; weak, defenseless and always needing another hand to hold; just like you were programmed. You only know how to hide." she stepped back, watching as the blue woman began to cry. "And like every other replaceable insect, I will find what makes you tick and throw you into the scrapyard."

Jasper released her grip on the glass and walked away, leaving Sapphire hanging in mid-air.

* * *

PEARL TWIRLED through the air and slashed cleanly through a Bloodstone's crystal, breaking it apart and landed on her feet. She looked to her right, seeing her clones taking out the other monsters with similar ease when a wall nearby exploded as four more rock gems arrived. Spinning her weapon, Pearl dashed into action, heading right for the enemy.

A Bloodstone shot a laser at Pearl and she phase-shifted, letting the beam go right through her and allowing her to stab the gem in its crystal, destroying it. Another monster fired at her and she tried to phase through the attack when a glowing hexagram appeared on its arm, making the blast burn right through her even while ethereal! Pearl cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clasping her side and writhing on the floor.

The clones saw this and rushed to her aide when the Bloodstone that shot Pearl punched the ground, summoning magical symbols made of light that spread out and electrocuted them! The seven gems squirmed in pain as the magic surged through them, the original Pearl's body tearing apart and bleeding out on the floor. Fighting through the attack, the pale woman focused her mind and manifested a clone in the next room, shifting her consciousness into it.

Falling to the floor, Pearl panted and looked around, trying to get her baring and get used to her new body. She looked to the wall behind her and heard her old body and her clones get blown apart by the magic spell, causing her to shudder as she realized she'd be dead had she not switched bodies. Picking herself up, she started to think of her next move when she noticed that she was in Rose's memorial room.

Pearl walked through the large, square room littered with Home World symbology and statues, the five largest being Rose's deceased sisters who stood as the pillars of the room and Rose's which was at the center back. The statue was magnificent, standing at twenty feet tall and covered in statues of birds and flowers that grew out and covered everything in the room. It felt peaceful and reassuring, just like it always felt when she was around.

The pale woman couldn't help but smile as she was in the room, almost poetic as she sought refuge after the fight and ended up where her old leader was. She stumbled suddenly however and felt a sharp pain going through her body, causing her to fall to a knee. She looked at her hand and saw her veins bulging beneath, bringing a small chuckle to her lips as she sat down.

"Hmm, I guess Amethyst isn't the only one among us who's careless," Pearl said, "Balance and flow; never use your powers without pause or you'll strain your gem, just as you always said." She looked up at the statue, sitting before it like a child before her mother. "You always told us we'd be ready when the time comes; you trained us for this and taught us more than any gem would have been learned in Home world, but we're not ready."

Pearl glanced around. "Home World was more than ready for us and we can't do anything about it." She turned to the statue. "What should we do? I've tried everything I could and I don't know where the Crystal Gems are … or where Steven is." She sighed. "I couldn't even protect him when Home World attacked and now he's out of my reach …" She smiled slightly. "But, you knew this'd happen? You must have prepared for this in case we weren't ready, right?" She waited, getting nothing.

"T-there has to be some sort of bunker; some weapon or spell, something that could help us out." She spoke, receiving silence. "… Please … please answer me, Rose … I'm all alone," She choked up, "… There has to be a way out of here … I can't do this by myself." She breathed shakily. "Please, give me a sign, any …"

Pearl looked to the statue longingly, desperate for an answer in the cold unyielding silence as Rose's eyes stared blankly into the distance ignoring her. A waft of cold blew through the room and Pearl sat beside herself, her hands shaking and her lips tightening. Tears welled up as she finally admitted to herself what she already knew; Rose was gone.

* * *

PAIN RUNG dully through Sapphire's head as she looked blankly through the dark nothingness before her, the sensation never ending as her body was endlessly being pulled apart. The suffering was all she could feel as she was hung by the malevolent force, her pain somewhat comforting as she knew it meant she was still alive. It was a cynical truth she felt, she almost wanted the pain even if it meant she could feel again.

Her mind now rested in the present for the first time in a long while, her thoughts completely her own as she took the time to breathe even while choked. All she could think of was finding Ruby, somehow never truly realizing that she was on her own. In this moment, in her state of enduring anguish, she accepted that she was alone. And that meant that she had to think differently.

She allowed herself to feel the torture, the tearing, the bleeding and the agony that went with it all as she reconnected with her entire being. Touching the tips of her fingers and sensing the air around her, she shut her eye and rested in her mind, embracing the solitude within; taking in nothing but the cold.

Jasper stepped into the black and looked at the gem that hanged helplessly, smiling to herself as she saw the emptiness on her face; she had broken her. The orange woman reached to pull at the glass when Sapphire grabbed her by the neck!

"What!?" Jasper tried to pull away, but was immediately covered in ice! "What is this!?"

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Sapphire said, looking at her with nothing but hate.

Jasper tried to budge and jerked back in shock as she saw the skin of Sapphire's arm and back torn back in the glass torture chamber and her gem cracked in half! "But how? You should be dead!"

"I've never felt more alive." Sapphire sneered and her pupil vanished as she froze Jasper over. "If I ever see you again, I will fucking kill you." Ice burst out of Sapphire's body, covering the entire room and breaking through the walls!

Sapphire fell at high speeds as she ended up out of the ship, seeing Jasper's frozen body plummet away from her. Her breath grew shallow and she looked at her crystal, seeing slowly shatter! Feeling herself slip away, the blue woman shrouded herself in a thick cocoon of ice and crashed into a building!

* * *

AMETHYST ROLLED into an abandoned building in Thayer Street and collapsed on the floor, letting the kids fall out again. The gem panted and slowly turned back to normal, the four kids collecting themselves and realizing what'd happened. Betty started to hyperventilate and looked around in a panic, seeing the others quietly sitting around.

"What just happened?" Betty said, clasping her head.

"We lost, again." Royce rubbed his shoulder. "If you can call what's been happening a win at all."

"All those people died." Mel said, her eyes wide in horror. "They killed Mr Smiley!"

"We need to get outta here!" Betty cried.

"And go where?" Royce asked. "The whole city's been blown to shit."

"Well, we can't just sit here! If the aliens find us, they'll kill us!"

"Yeah, I agree with Betty; I want out." Mel said.

"They're gonna kill us! They're gonna kill us!" Betty paced around.

"Hey, hey, nobody's gonna die." Amethyst said, still lying on her back.

"Didn't you just see what happened out there?" Royce raised his brow.

"I was there with you, genius."

"We can't do this, Amethyst, we should run while we can." Mel said.

"Oh, what? **_You're_**gonna be the pussy now?" Amethyst said.

"You're an asshole." Royce frowned. "You're joking around while people died out there!"

"You think I don't know what happened." Amethyst sat up. "I watched everyone die as I ran."

"You were running? I thought you supposed to be a hero!" Royce said.

"I was trying to protect you!" Amethyst said, a silence falling in the room.

".… They killed lil Bobby …" Jim said finally. "How are we supposed to do anything against them if everyone dies?"

Amethyst paused as she saw the look in Jim's eye, seeing the same despair in the others. "… People die when you try to protect them and you aren't strong enough; there's nothing that can be done about it."

"But this isn't like every other time you've saved the city; the whole city's destroyed now!" Royce said. "What's there to save?" He huffed. "We should've just run when you told us to then we wouldn't have held you back."

"Look, we may be outnumbered and outgunned, but we can't give up." Amethyst said. "The Bloodstones have the whole city and there's nowhere to run, but we have to fight."

"But how?" Jim asked.

"Together."

"And if we lose?"

"Then we do that together too." Amethyst said and stepped forward. "If we run, we die; if we stay here, we die; but if we fight back, then we have a chance." She looked at the kids, but they remained silent, unconvinced. Sensing the atmosphere, the Gem sat down with them, waiting for their decision.

* * *

A LEAF wafted through the air and landed on Pearl's cheek, shaking her from sleep as she realized she'd nodded off at Rose's feet. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled to herself in embarrassment - she really hadn't grown much at all. She stood up and was surprised that she was able to move freely again; her body having healed herself during her slumber. She looked on throughout the room and sighed in relief as the Bloodstones hadn't got to her yet.

She stepped away from the statute and stood before it to get a better look, seeing the beautiful face of her old leader that gave her a smile. Her thoughts quickly flooded in however as she tried to figure out what to do next, remembering how her clones and her old body were destroyed by a single Bloodstone. She began to think of a different approach when a low rumbling caught her attention.

She looked up at the ceiling and saw sand trickling down, another tremor startling her and leading her to look at Rose's statue. Looking at Rose's face, her eyes squinting as she noticed a slight glow coming from within. Confusion set in when suddenly, a laser blasted through Rose's face and shattered it!

Pearl froze in horror as Rose's face fell to the floor, crumbling and rolling to her feet as her body above remained headless. The Gem couldn't move, her body shaking as everything around her collapsed as Bloodstones smashed through the walls! Roses sister's fell and broke to pieces all around Pearl, the pale woman's mind slowly catching up as Rose's statue finally broke!

"No!" Pearl cried, watching her leader's body splay on the floor.

Pearl covered her mouth, tears trembling through her as six Bloodstones stalked toward her and took aim, ready to fire on the Gem who wouldn't move. She looked up at the six burning lights around her, the beams speeding toward her, inches away from incinerating her when a pink bubble of light swallowed her and vanished!

The six monsters remained, looking around as Pearl had disappeared.

* * *

PEARL FELL to the ground with her arm over her face, shielding herself from the blasts that never arrived. Blinking, she realized that she wasn't in the memorial hall anymore and picked herself up, looking around and seeing clear skies all around. She was atop a mountain and saw Beach City in the distance, the Temple facing her.

She raised her brow in confusion when Lion walked passed her! "Lion?" She squinted and the beast continued walking. "You saved me?" She asked, getting no reply. She laughed slightly, thankful when her smile turned to rage. "Where were you!? Why didn't you help me!?" The animal remained silent. "Listen here you -," An explosion cut her off.

Pearl's body went cold as she looked on, despair setting in as she saw the Temple explode in a giant flame in the distance! Her legs went weak and she fell to her knees, her head shaking as she mouthed her grief silently as her home fell apart.

"… Rose …"

* * *

AMETHYST TOOK a swig of a discarded beer and tossed it away when she heard the explosion as well, looking up and seeing a massive fire rising from the hill at the beach! She rose up and saw the fires rage on, realizing that the Temple was destroyed. Standing alone on the roof of the abandoned building, the purple Crystal Gem sighed and watched solemnly, letting go.

"Goodbye Rose …"

* * *

"STEVEN! STEVEN, stop, your wounds haven't healed yet!" Connie yelled as she followed Steven who walked toward the window of the small home. Catching up to him, she saw the flames and gasped. "Steven …"

Tears flowed freely down the boy's face as he watched in horror as his home went up in flames. "Mom!"

* * *

**Well, to my surprise, I found out White Diamond is an actual canon character - thought we just made her up. Ah well**


	5. Your Kind

**"YOUR KIND** **"**

ASH PEPPERED the streets that cold night as Steven watched from the window of the small home, his shaking bruised hand on the glass as he wept profusely. The pain in his body was overcome with pain from within as he felt alone, having lost his father and the last memories of his mother in the space of hours. He collapsed to his knees and looked to his broken hands, his tears dripping on his bandages.

Connie watched her friend cry on the floor and hesitantly sat beside him, not sure of what to say, but wanting to be there for him all the same. "You know, everyone's always talking about how my mom did great things back in the day and how she helped Home World." Steven wiped his tears. "It was such a massive set of shoes to fill and now … it's all gone; nothing left to remember her by." He chuckled cynically. "My fucking luck, huh?"

"I'm so sorry, Steven." Connie said.

Steven sighed. "And now all I have is this power that's useless because I don't know what to do."

"No, it's not, Steven." Connie faced him. "It's not over."

"What am I supposed to do? We were supposed to find the Gems and our home is gone." He paused. "Mom and dad are gone …"

"But you're still here and you can fight." She said. "If we fight the Bloodstones and find the others, we can win this."

Steven nodded. "Yeah-yeah, you're right," He stood up. "We're gonna find the others, and when we do," He threw off his bandages. "I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch in charge."

* * *

MAKING HER last toast to her destroyed home and her memories gone with it, Amethyst leapt off the roof and went inside the abandoned building. She entered the main concourse, hesitant as she expected the teens to be unwilling to talk when she found them crowded around the window. Curious, she went up to them when she found that they were arguing.

"This is your fault, Jim; if we headed for the police station, we'd probably be safe, but you had to go ahead and talk about some hero crap like you're Captain America!" Royce yelled at the boy.

"My fault? Then why'd you follow me?" Jim frowned.

"Come on, we shouldn't be fighting." Betty tried to step in.

"Oh, look who's talking! Little Ms Fornite who thought human weapons would work against fucking aliens!" Mel walked up to her.

"Well, at least I thought of something instead of just standing there being useless!" Betty retorted.

"You know what, you and Jim can just go and play superhero all you want; I'm done with this shit!" Mel walked off.

"Same here!" Royce followed her. "Fucking Jackie Chan over here thinks he can fight everything like his bullshit movies."

"Oh yeah, you wanna go there, Tyrese, you punk bitch!" Jim jeered.

"That's it!" Royce moved to punch Jim.

"Hey!" Amethyst yelled, drawing their attention. "What's going on here?"

"We're done playing hero." Royce said.

"It was these guys' dumb idea to try and fight these aliens and look what happened." Mel pointed at Jim and Betty, her tone falling. "I don't wanna end up like everyone else."

"Well, if you thought our idea was so dumb, you shouldn't have come along with us in the first place!" Jim growled.

"Yeah." Betty chimed.

"Oh, there you go again; just agreeing with everything Jim says." Mel frowned.

"Ah, for fuck's sake." Amethyst huffed.

"Well, if you listened for once, you'd hear my idea of how to fight the Bloodstones without people getting killed." Betty said.

"Wait, what're you talking about?" Amethyst turned to her.

"I think I know how to beat the Bloodstones once and for all." Betty said.

* * *

SIRENS BLARED and red lights flashed all through the Home World ship, its soldiers within scrambling as they went through the torture room and looked for Jasper. Ruby heard this as she roamed the halls, her nerves getting the better of her as she realized she could be spotted at any moment. She headed down a corridor and wondered where she could hide when a tall gem approached her!

The male gem, the one who'd spoken to Jasper before, walked down the hall whilst speaking to small magical symbols that glowed before him. He was large, slightly taller than Jasper, and had greenish-black skin with a red gem on his forehead and wore a white long jacket over a black uniform and dark-red gloves and boots. He was the original Bloodstone, Helio Quartz. "Alright, I want rubies on the ground looking for Jasper - I'll come down there myself to aid in the search after I've met with Lord Diamond." He spoke.

"Yes, Lieutenant Commander!" A voice responded on the other end - the magical symbols shifting as the voice spoke.

"Can't let such a beauty be taken down in a blindsided attack." Helio dismissed the symbols, walking on when he saw Ruby trying to slip into another hall. "Hey, you; what're you doing here?"

"I, uh …" Ruby hesitated, freezing up as the gem approached.

"You should be with the other rubies, not roaming around on your own." Helio said, confused as she remained quiet. "Are you gonna say anything?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir! I got lost." Ruby said quickly, rubbing her head.

Helio stared at her, curious when he heard Rubies walking down the hall behind him. "Oh, there they are," He turned to them. "Now go on and get to work; we have an emergency on our hands."

Ruby glanced at Helio and walked passed him, looking back at him and seeing that he watched to make sure she did join the others. Sighing, the Gem entered the line and walked among the rubies that went down a hall. She checked again and saw that Helio was gone and realized that the other rubies were chattering among themselves in confusion.

"You smell funny!" One gem said.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Another commented, getting a chuckle from the others.

Ruby withdrew into herself, trying to think of how she'd get away as she quickly became the center of attention in the group of gems. She tried to slowly sink back into the crowd when a ruby tapped her back from behind. "Hey, how ya doin'?" The gem said with a grin.

Ruby looked to the gem behind her, seeing that it was a male with full beard and a small brown coat over his armor. "Oh, hey." Ruby said in discomfort.

"Don't let these guys bother you; they just haven't seen a beautiful looking ruby before." The gem replied.

"Hey, shut up, beardy!" A gem yelled up ahead.

"The name's Oak!" Oak retorted.

"Yeah, well beardy's easier." The gem said loudly, cackling with the others.

Oak huffed. "Don't worry; you'll get used to it." He turned to Ruby, "You must not be from around here."

"Yeah, I was with another squad." Ruby said hesitantly.

Oak squinted curiously then grinned. "Well, welcome aboard, buddy! We're gonna have a great time together!" He patted her shoulder and walked alongside her.

Ruby smiled at Oak and continued on with the group, hearing the chattering all around her and getting accustomed to it. Her memories of being with her own kind returned to her as she blended into the crowd, feeling comfortable despite being away for so long. She began to worry however as she realized how little she'd accomplished aboard the ship, having been hiding and snooping around without a clue of what to do.

She began to remember how lost she was before she'd met Sapphire, feeling at odds with herself as she was again in the same situation and hadn't changed at all despite how long they'd been fused. Sinking into her own thoughts, Ruby merged into the crowd and followed the other rubies. If she couldn't find her on her own, maybe she would while with others.

* * *

SAPPHIRE PUSHED the door of the small home open; the weight of it unbearable as she froze her wounds with her other end. She got it open and went outside, only to collapse on the ground and bleed out on the pavement. She writhed in pain, but muscled her way through, dragging one leg after another and getting to her feet again - staggering and nearly falling over - and moved on.

She cut her chrysalis healing short to avoid getting found by Jasper or any other gem, but began to regret it as she struggled to even walk under the intense pain. Her healing was superficial; her body looking healed on the outside, but her flesh torn and bleeding within. Despite this, she knew she had a duty; she had to find the others and stop Home World's plans.

With a hand to her stomach slowly healing her wounds with ice, the blue woman dragged herself through the abandoned neighborhood; the empty silence being all that remained after the residents fled. The area was devoid of Bloodstones from what she could tell as she'd nether been attacked by one nor heard damage anyway nearby. In this she took ease as she needed time to think in order to locate the others.

She walked on when a Home World ship flew overhead, making her tense up and summon a shaft of ice from the ground, ready to fight. The aircraft however went on, completely ignoring her and piquing her interest. She now became curious as she watched the vessel leave, wondering what all the crafts in the air were doing crisscrossing the skies this whole time.

During the attacks, the ships had spent time deploying Bloodstones which wrecked the area in order to install the terraformation devices, but now seemed to be flying around aimlessly. Or were they? Paying close attention, Sapphire began to follow the vehicles as they went through the skies, looking for a pattern. Despite moving out in different directions, they seemed to return to one part of the city due North of her. She had to find out what was there.

* * *

STEVEN AND Connie exited the small house and headed down the street, the boy moving quickly ahead and making the girl concerned. As she followed him, she saw the havoc he'd left behind from his fight with Coral, seeing the carnage still on the street adjacent. Steven strode on even quicker when he suddenly stopped and clasped his stomach in pain.

"Steven?" She went up to him.

Steven hissed and stood upright, steam exuding from his stomach. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Sometimes a wound takes more time to heal." Steven said. "Pearl had once warned me that doing instant regeneration over and over can put strain your crystal." He lifted his shirt and looked at his core, seeing the gem cracked slightly. "Guess I should cool it for a second."

"Yeah, and I wanted to talk about that." Connie continued. "You lost it back there with Coral; you could've killed people in the buildings you destroyed."

Steven paused and looked into the next street, noticing the full aftermath of his struggle with the gem. "I didn't realize I'd …"

"You should be more cautious next time." Connie said. "And we should be careful now as well; we can't rush into another fight in the state your in."

"You're right." Steven nodded walking on. "I've been kinda wondering though; how do the Bloodstones keep finding us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been trying to avoid them since they arrived, but we keep running into them." Steven said.

"Hmm …" Connie squinted, trying to think of something as they went down the street. She froze in place suddenly however, confused as she saw a slight red glow emanating from Steven's left ear. Before she could react, a Bloodstone rammed through a building and rushed at Steven! "Look out!"

Steven turned, only to get smacked down by the gem, burrowing him into the asphalt and pinning him, moving to strike him again. Connie rushed in quickly and drew out her sword, swooping in and cutting the creature through its crystal, causing it to crumble to bits. She helped the boy out of the rubble, seeing him bleed again and trying to tend to him when she saw the glow again beneath his skin slowly dim out.

The girl bent his ear back and checked on him, causing Steven to raise his brow. "What're you doing?"

"Your ear was glowing."

"Uh, what?" Steven stood up.

"Your ear was glowing just now." Connie said.

"What're you talking about?" Steven asked, touching his ear. "I don't feel anything."

"It was glowing right now … just before the gem attacked!" Connie said.

"... And what does that mean?"

"Don't you get it, Steven? They're tracking us! That explains why they're everywhere we go!" Connie said.

"But how? When'd they have put a tracker on me?" Steven said.

"It could've been by one of the Bloodstones when we fought them." Connie crossed her arms.

"But when? I don't feel anything."

"Huh … it could be magical type of tracker, not physical." Connie said, thinking. "If it were physical, it'd have been destroyed by now during all the fighting."

"Well, we need to get it off then! If they know everywhere we are, they'll ambush us when we find the others!" Steven said.

"... Or maybe we don't."

"What!? What if it kills me!?" Steven said.

"If they wanted to use it to kill you, they already would have." Connie said. "The spell activated when the Bloodstones are close by, if that's the case, we can use it against them."

"And track them instead!" Steven realized.

"Let's find us some Bloodstones." Connie smirked.

* * *

SAPPHIRE STUMBLED and leaned against a wall, breathing heavily as the pain continued despite her continued regeneration. Pulling herself together, she went on through the abandoned street, looking up again and seeing Home World ships flying above. As she'd moved through the streets and observed the crafts, she began to notice that they were beginning to move back toward one location. With this, she pushed through the pain as her goal was becoming clearer.

"I'm getting close."

* * *

BETTY ZOOMED in through the binoculars, watching Bloodstones moving down the next street. "D'you see that?" She handed Amethyst the binoculars.

Receiving them, Amethyst looked in and raised her brow. "It's just a buncha Home World gems."

"I want you to notice how they're moving." Betty said, gesturing for her to look through again. "They're slow and heavy; the only time they move fast is either via a lunging or rushing attack."

"This isn't a video game, Betty." Mel, who stood with Jim and Royce behind them on the abandoned building's roof, said with a frown.

"Well, they're some things you can apply from them; like how to take down an enemy." Betty said, turning to Amethyst. "The aliens are so heavy that they cause the ground to shake sometimes; if you use it against them, they'll be easy to beat."

"And how do we do that?" Amethyst asked.

"Wait? What?" Betty was taken aback.

"You're the one who came up with the plan, so how do we do it?" Amethyst said.

"But, I thought you were the leader here."

"Well, sometimes, you should let the rookie take the lead." The gem grinned.

Betty gulped and looked at the others, seeing them looking back at her. "Alright, here's the plan."

* * *

THE SOUNDS of laughter and chatter filled the air around Ruby as she sat on a bench amidst the other rubies in the ship's on-board military base. The Gem looked through the massive concourse which was divided into an eating area, communal bathroom, training area, and rest area, and was surrounded by massive walls which had rooms in them lined up like shelves, leading to the artificial sun above. She started to remember how incredibly massive the Home World ships could be on the inside - the magics and sciences they had allowing them to house much larger things than they should.

She was consumed by her thoughts when Oak came up to her. "Hey, Ruby."

"Huh?" She turned to him.

"I got ya a drink," He handed her a cup with black liquid. "Betcha thirsty after having been on the ground with the other troops."

"Y-yeah, thanks." Ruby received the cup, looking at the beverage curiously.

"C'mon, I wouldn't do anything to it." Oak took a sip. "I only spiked it a little; the Handlers 'round here keep our drinks stale so we can 'keep focus', but I gotcha."

"Uh, thanks." Ruby took a sip, cringing at its bitterness.

Oak laughed and smacked her back. "There ya go."

Ruby chuckled uneasily, startled, but continued drinking anyway. Tapping the cup, she started to wonder. "Um, you have any idea what our mission is; what we're doing here exactly on Terra?"

"Huh? You forgot?" Oak eyed her in confusion.

"Well, uh, I sorta hit my head during a fight earlier, so I forgot." Ruby stuttered.

"Ah, don't worry about it; most of us here have short memories." Oak laughed. "Truth is I have no idea what we're doing here exactly either."

"What? Then why're you following their orders?"

"Because it's what we do." Oak drank some more. "Soldiers don't question orders, they simply follow them cuz the commander knows what's best."

"... But, don't you ever make your own choices? You don't ever think for yourselves?" Ruby asked.

"Why do that? It's too much work if you ask me." Oak sat back. "There's a shit ton of us here and if we all thought for ourselves, we'd never work together so well. A hive mind that never questions, but simply follows is more successful."

"... But -,"

"Look, don't think about it too much; it'd just give ya a headache anyway." Oak turned to her. "Us rubies weren't made to think higher than fuse and follow someone else; it's how the world works." He said, noticing Ruby's expression fall. "Now, don't be down; this's the easy life! C'mon, why don't I grab ya something to eat."

Ruby glanced around and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you're right."

Oak and Ruby left the bench and the male gem led her through the rest area, moving past several rubies who gathered together. They seemed happy as they talked with each other and she started to feel at home again. Being with her own kind, though feeling a little odd as she'd been away for so long, was starting to grow on her again. She felt like she belonged again.

They came up a small vending machine like device when they heard a loud gong, drawing their attention to the north wall where a large speaker was installed. "All rubies report to the loading bay immediately." A female voice said.

The rubies chattered amongst themselves and headed out through the four large doors surrounding the area. Ruby looked around as this happened and hesitantly followed Oak, wondering what was happening. The soldiers went through the doors into large elevators, tightly packing them and moving down towards the lower floors.

The elevators were surrounded by glass, allowing for Ruby to see other gems moving about in the ship's lower levels. The first few were hallways which had commanders crisscrossing them, nothing to her surprise until they went to the bottom half of the ship. There several Peridots, Pearls and Bismuths were hard at work manning the ship; the Peridots analyzing the machines, the Bismuths repairing them, and the Pearls being slaved to do cleaning and taking the brunt of the damage from electrical discharges and accidents. Ruby started to feel uneasy.

They reached the loading bay and stepped out of the elevator, entering a vast hangar in which Bismuths and Bloodstones moved to and fro, carrying hovering crates with artifacts and supplies. The rubies moved through the space and went up to a tall female gem, an Agate who had two Peridots standing behind her. The Agate's eyes glazed over the rubies and she looked at her holo-pad.

"Alright, if you all cooperate, this'll go smoothly." The Agate said. "We unearthed an artifact on the ground our Peridots have deemed too dangerous for us to touch directly, so we need you to find out how so we can uncover what is inside."

"Ugh, why should we have these clods handling this? They could break it for all we know." Peridot frowned.

"Yes, Peridot, I know your concerns, but we do not have time to carefully break every seal on every artifact." The Agate said. "Lord Diamond wants to move our schedule up, so we should pick up the pace." She turned to the rubies. "Alright, who's first?"

The rubies started shuffling and arguing among themselves, Ruby panicking as she thought she'd be picked, and a gem to her right was pushed out. The ruby hesitated and walked slowly to the artifact in question, a large black box covered in magical symbols and held with a mask-shaped lock. Ruby looked closely at the chest and recognized an eye on the top of it; the Eye of Bill Cipher!

"Wait!" She cried when Oak quickly covered her mouth.

"What was that?" Agate turned to them, seeing the gems silent and looked back at her pad.

Oak gestured for Ruby to stay quiet and she hesitantly did so, watching the ruby in front of her inch her way toward the chest. The chest glowed slightly as the gem got closer and she reached to touch it when the symbolic eye looked at her and blasted her with black energy! Ruby tried to speak out, but was silenced again as the other ruby was burned by the black energy! Consuming the gem in the dark aura, the eye absorbed the ruby's body and left nothing but her crystal behind that immediately turned to dust!

Ruby looked in in horror at the small patch of dirt on the floor before her, horrified as the other rubies remained quiet and the Agate and peridots stayed emotionless. Peridot however was visibly terrified and turned to Agate. "You see? I told you this'd happen!"

"It doesn't matter - bring out another ruby." The Agate said. "We'll find a way to access this chest even if it takes a hundred rubies."

Ruby started to hyperventilate as the shuffling started again, her heart racing as she could die at any moment.

* * *

SAPPHIRE BIT her tongue as she froze her ruptured inner organs to the core, numbing the wounds and stopping the bleeding. If she couldn't heal in time, then she'd have to do it later. Stepping out of the alleyway, the blue woman took a look and spotted a large abyss to her right, quickly hovering toward it. She stopped at its edge and looked downward, and just as before, it had circuit lines going down into the underground, but there were magical symbols in it as well. She studied the markings and looked around her, realizing that the markings went across the ground and onto nearby buildings as well!

She recognized some of the glowing carvings and text and grew confused as they had absolutely nothing to do with terraformation, but were for travelling between worlds. "What're they doing?"

Looking at the ships flying overhead, she decided to try and find the others instead. Whatever Home World's plans were, they had to be stopped before it was too late.

* * *

RUBY'S EYES were wide with horror as she stared at the black marks of dirt on the floor which were all that was left of the nine rubies that'd come in contact with the chest. The Agate gestured for another ruby to step forward when the chest suddenly shot open "Well, well, well, it finally opened! Excellent work, rubies." the Agate grinned.

"But, what'd they do exactly?" Peridot asked.

"It doesn't matter; what does is that it's open." the Agate said and turned to the rubies. "Leave us."

The rubies did as they were told and started to leave; Oak grabbing the dumbstruck Ruby and heading to the elevator with her. Ruby looked at the other rubies who were shaken up as well, turning to Oak who was sweating profusely. The Gem shook her head and stepped out of Oak's grasp, burning through the floor and entering the inner panels.

Hearing the rubies above her enter the elevator without noticing her departure, Ruby started to panic, clasping her head and crying. She tried to collect her thoughts, the grief and confusion overwhelming her as she couldn't get the nine rubies' deaths out of her mind. She wept underground when she heard Peridot's voice above ground.

"Sorry to pry, but I just don't understand what happened just now." Peridot went up to the Agate. "How did the rubies open the chest? They were just destroyed by the spell like I'd said."

"The seal on this chest is a unique type." Agate began. "You open it by either breaking it with magic or sacrificing gemstones to it."

"But that means …"

"We needed a sacrifice and the rubies are our most expendable." Agate said. "Well, them and the Pearls, but they'd probably be too weak for it to accept. Now, c'mon, let's analyze what we've found."

Ruby froze as she heard what the Agate said, her body boiling with rage as she burned through the floor and came back above ground. Leaning behind a beam, the Gem peeped out and saw that the Agate and the peridots had left. She took the opportunity and went into the elevator, seeping into its walls for cover as she headed to the upper floors.

The elevator doors opened and Ruby waited, hearing nobody and phasing out of the wall again, entering the hallway. She tried to think of a way out of the ship before she'd be discovered or worse, sinking into her mind when she bumped into Oak!

"Oh, hey, there ya are." He said. "Lost ya there for a second."

"Oh, hey, Oak." Ruby said hesitantly.

"... Look, I know what happened back there, but I'm sure the Agate had a good reason for it." Oak said, failing to convince Ruby, or even himself. "… C-c'mon, let's go back to the others; we don't wanna get in trouble out here." He walked on.

Ruby watched him leave and hesitated, going along wih him.

* * *

A MAN breathed heavily as he sat by the window of his dining room, shotgun in hand and his wife and daughter at his side. The woman covered the child's mouth as she was about to scream and the man looked out, seeing six Bloodstones enter their street. He gulped and cocked the weapon, unsure of whether it'd actually work on them.

The family shuddered as they heard gunfire and explosions outside, the mother clinging to her daughter and the father panicking as he tried to think of a way out. More explosions came after and there was a sudden silence, tension rising in the air. The three waited as they heard nothing outside afterward, prompting the man to look out slowly as he wondered what was going on.

"What the …?" the man raised his brow as the Bloodstones were buried halfway into the ground.

Retracting her whips from the underground, Amethyst stood at the end of the street and looked at her handiwork as the Bloodstones were trapped halfway into the earth with their torsos sticking out. She moved toward them when the ground began to rumble, drawing her attention to the gems who were trying to break out. "Now!" She called out.

Rising from shrubs and trash cans on the houses' front yards, Jim, Royce, Mel and Betty aimed their guns at the Bloodstone's gems and fired destroying them instantly. Betty missed however and the Bloodstone shot out of the road, sending rocks flying towards the houses around it. Acting quickly, Amethyst threw out her whips and lassoed the rubble, jumping at the gem.

Wringing the whips together, Amethyst swung the rocks into the gem's crystal, breaking through it and smashing the alien. She balled up and landed on the road with a thud, drawing the attention of the families in the houses nearby and police officers near a barricade. Royce, Jim, Mel and Betty came up to her.

"Yeah, we did it!" Royce cheered

"Well, we almost failed cuz four-eyes over here messed up the shot." Mel said.

"Hey, it was her plan that saved all these people here, so cut her some slack." Amethyst said. "How do you guys even know how to shoot anyway?"

"Our dads are army buddies." Jim said.

"Well, I -," Amethyst tried to speak when a sudden applause interrupted her.

People crowded around the four and cheered them on. "Go, Crystal Gems!"

"Wait, she's the one who came up with the idea." Amethyst said, failing to get over their cheering.

A police man moved through the crowd and went up to her, holding his hand out. "I'm Officer Lieberman, we can't thank you enough for what you did back there."

"Actually, it was her idea." Amethyst gestured to Betty.

"Her?" The Officer got confused.

"Me?" Betty echoed.

"Yeah, she came up with the strategy to take out the aliens." Amethyst said, pushing Betty toward the officer.

"Well, alright then." Lieberman said, drawing out a notepad. "How do we defeat these bastards?"

"Um," Betty pushed up her glasses, stuttering as everyone's eyes were on her. "The aliens are heavy, so attacking the ground around them will get them stuck. After that, you just need to attack their red crystals and it'll destroy them."

"Hmm …" Lieberman jotted the notes down.

"Oh, and use high-caliber guns; regular handguns aren't strong enough to destroy the stones." Betty said quickly.

"Okay then." Lieberman said, putting his notebook away. "We can't thank you enough, kid; you've saved many lives here today." He said, leaving an awestruck look on Betty's face.

"Try and focus on evacuation for the time being and avoid fighting the aliens unless you're cornered." Amethyst said. "My team and I will lead the attack from here."

"You got it." Lieberman turned to another officer. "Alright, let's move!"

"C'mon, let's go kick some ass." Amethyst said to the kids and went off.

* * *

WIND WAFTED through Pearl's hair as she sat on the edge of the mountain, the cold barely affecting her as she idly looked on. The waving waters below melted away in her thoughts, her mind numb as she couldn't bring herself to think about anything anymore. The tears no longer came to her as she withdrew into herself, losing hope and assuming everyone else was dead.

She heard footsteps behind her and without looking knew who it was. "Lion, leave me alone." The beast came up to her still and nudged her back. "Lion, I don't wanna play right now." The animal budged her again. "Lion, go away!" She snapped at him, breathing heavily. "Why didn't you help me? If you were there, we could've saved the temple … now everything's gone …" She sighed. "She's gone …"

Lion bit at her sash, dragging her on. "Lion, let go of me!" She pushed him off, falling to the ground. She pushed herself up when she realized she was on sand, looking around and realizing that she was in a desert. "What the …?" She stood up, seeing the Pyramids in the distance. "The Pyramids …" she turned to Lion. "Why'd you bring me here?"

The animal walked on, not answering her and she followed him, shielding her eyes as the wind blew against her. Pearl followed Lion up to a rise and gasped as she saw the rubble of a temple up ahead, the statue of a Crystal Gem lying at its entrance along with others that were destroyed. "A Gem memorial …" She looked at Lion. "Is this where you've been this whole time?" The animal looked at her, as though it said 'yes'.

Pearl slid down the sand and went up to the ruins, looking at the falling structures and burn marks all around. "The Bloodstones were here recently." She turned to Lion. "Did you see them do this?" The animal looked at her then turned to a pillar nearby with a symbol carved into it. She went up to it. "It was Rose's …" She touched the beam. "But, why'd they destroy this one? We weren't even posted here." She asked Lion and the beast sat there. Frowning, she went up to him. "Take me back to Beach City."

* * *

A SHARP ringing blared in Steven's ear as he and Connie walked down the street, the girl looking closely at the boy's ear as it flickered ever so slightly as they moved. Coming up to a massive abyss in the ground, the two looked down and turned to each other. "So, this is where you're sensing the strange presence?" Connie asked.

"Yeah, at first I thought it was because of the Bloodstones, but there's something else." Steven said. "Something evil is down there."

Connie sighed. "Well, let's go find out."


	6. Ripples

**RIPPLES**

THE WORLD grew darker and darker around Steven and Connie as the boy climbed down the ditch for nearly ten minutes with no bottom in sight. Connie, who was on piggyback, acted as their eyes as they made their descent, looking above once more as the hole above shrank more and more. The abyss soon became pitch black as they went further, blocking their vision when a blue light sparked below them.

"What the?" Steven raised his brow as the blue light snaked towards them.

The luminescence spread around them like vines, quickly shifting into circuit lines that lit their path. The two were in awe as they saw the lights around them, an eerie beauty weaving in their pattern as they went between the rocks and split into magical symbols. Connie smiled, not expecting such a sight as they drew closer to the evil unknown, and turned to Steven when she saw him sweat.

"Steven? Are you okay?" She asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Steven said.

"It's the presence from before, isn't it?" She looked around. "We must be getting closer."

"Whatever it is, I know it's strong." Steven said. "I hope we're not making a mistake here."

"Yeah."

Steven put his leg down, searching for footing when he felt flat ground beneath him. "Whoa, we made it!" He jumped down, letting Connie off. "Let's see what we can find here."

Connie nodded and the two walked on, following a large tunnel that was illuminated with similar symbols. Connie began to sense the evil presence herself, wondering what it was they were actually heading toward. She studied the carvings around them and started to recognize some Alchemic symbols in them in them, making her unnerved.

They came to the tunnel's end and entered a large circular room which was covered in symbols like the rest of the cave. They looked for another path when they saw a large abyss before them going further underground! "Another one?" Connie asked.

"Ah, man, I was tired of climbing." Steven said.

"Well, guess you're gonna have to climb again." Connie said, gaining a groan from the boy.

They went up to the mouth of the hole when they heard footsteps from their right, confused as there was nothing but walls all around. The two tensed up as the sounds loudened, waiting for what'd approach when a dim red glow emanated from the rock! Phasing through the walls with fire, two tall, lean, green gems garbed in regal white armor with red oval crystals for faces wielding flaming spears entered the room! They were Ammolites.

"Halt, intruders!" The gems said in unison, pointing their spears at them.

"Well, this is new." Connie said.

* * *

RUBY'S HEAD hung low as she wondered what to do next, standing beside Oak in the elevator as it headed to the Ruby room. The lift came to a stop and the two gems stepped out, finding the other gems chattering in the rest area. "Hey, it's Beardy!" A ruby said, grabbing the attention of the other gems.

"Where'd he go?" Another asked.

"And who's that ruby he's with?" Doc Ruby asked.

"Her? She's Ruby - you don't remember?" Oak said. "She was with us minutes ago."

"Ruby what?" Doc walked toward them.

"I-it's just Ruby." Ruby said nervously.

"Just Ruby? What? There's nothing particular about you?" Doc raised her brow, gesturing to the others. "I mean, there's Navy, Leggy, Eyeball, and you're just called ruby?"

"Y-yeah." Ruby said.

"Hmm …" Doc stared at her.

"She's from another squad, Doc; it's fine." Oak said.

"Really … cuz I don't remember an Agate telling us we'd receive anybody new." Doc said.

"Yeah, me neither." Leggy said, rubbing her chin.

"Well, you most likely forgot, Leggy," Oak said.

"Hehe, yeah." Leggy shrugged. "She doesn't seem that bad anyway."

"Hmm … I don't know." Doc walked up to Ruby. "I mean … she does look familiar now that I think about it."

"Um, what're you talking about?" Ruby said, backing up.

"Hey, yeah, weren't we sent to Terra one time?" Navy said.

"Yeah … and we lost one ruby when heading back I think …" Doc tried to think. "There were five of us and now we're only four."

"Yeah, Army, Navy, Eyeball and Doc." Leggy said, forgetting to count herself. "Poor lost ruby."

"But it wasn't her, was it …?" Doc scratched her head.

"Um, heh," Ruby said, realizing that they were slowly remembering their last encounter. "I'll just go grab something to eat, okay?"

"Okay!" Leggy giggled, waving at her excitedly.

Ruby slipped away from the five rubies who muttered amongst themselves, moving up to a vending machine like device. The Gem began to panic and quickly got herself a drink, trying to calm her nerves as she tried to think. If those five gems remembered their last clash back at the barn years back and she were to be exposed in a Home World ship, she'd be done for.

She tried to sip slowly when Oak came up to her. "Hey, Ruby, you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Ruby forced a smile, hoping he wouldn't see through.

"Sorry about Navy; she can get paranoid sometimes." Oak said. "It takes her some time before she gets used to a new ruby."

"Sure." Ruby said, staring at the gem as she argued with her four partners.

* * *

TWO BLOODSTONES stepped out of a Home World ship carrying two cases of artifacts and weapons and headed into a desolate street. They were the only occupants of the smaller vessel and were setting up a large construction near a point where they'd installed an underground machine. They laid the containers on the ground and continued their work when a sliver of ice snaked up to their legs and froze them in place.

The gems looked around, wondering where the ice came from when Sapphire materialized behind them! Slapping her palms on the monsters' backs, the Gem froze them down to their cores, breaking them to pieces and destroying them instantly. Reforming fully, she moved toward their ship.

She'd attacked several Bloodstones she could find as she'd moved around, hoping to find a ship so she could move around more easily and find the others quickly. Her strategy seemed to have worked and luck looked to be on her side when the ground suddenly rumbled, nearly knocking her over. She looked around, wondering what'd caused it when she saw Jasper a few feet away from her!

The orange gem walked down the street slowly, somewhat tense in the foreign land when she saw Sapphire out of the corner of her eye. "You!"

"Jasper!" Sapphire growled.

"Well, well; who'd think we'd meet again so quickly." Jasper walked up to her nonchalantly. "How ya been?" She smirked, seeing the wound on the Gem's stomach. "Ooh, that looks bad."

"How did you find me!?" Sapphire said, trying to keep her distance.

"Dumb luck I guess." Jasper shrugged. "Guess our god is on our side, isn't he?"

Sapphire growled and flung her hand forward, but nothing happened! "Huh?" She tried again, feeling on a small waft of cool air move over the ground. "What is this?"

"Hmm, guess the spell has begun." Jasper looked at her hand, opening and closing it. "Our powers are gonna get screwed up a little."

"What?" Sapphire jerked back.

"Well, no matter." Jasper said, dashing up to her at alarming speeds. "Guess I can let loose a little." She said into Sapphire's ear, punching her in the gut.

Sapphire's eyes bulged as the wind was knocked out of her, her body sent flying toward a house nearby. The Gem slammed against the wall, the building remaining intact when the force of the punch came after and burrowed her into the structure, sending out a wave that caused a line of buildings to explode into bits behind her! Jasper stood and watched the destruction unfold as the earth itself began to break apart!

"I've missed this."

* * *

A PORTAL OPENED in Thayer Street and Pearl emerged riding on Lion. The Gem gasped as she saw the destroyed buildings around, the blood splattered on the ground and the corpses hidden beneath rubble making her heart bleed as she bore witness to what Home World had done to the city. Feeling her hand shake as she'd covered her mouth, the Gem composed herself, focusing on the task at hand. Grabbing Lion's mane, she led the animal down the sidewalk.

She tried to think of a way to find the others, wondering if she could telepathically link with Garnet and find her that way. She then wondered if she was even close enough for it to be possible when Lion suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Lion, what're you -," She tried to say when she heard chattering in the distance. "Wait, is that …?"

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet already? If the Bloodstones hear us coming, it'd fuck up any chances of sneaking up on them!" Amethyst yelled as she entered the street, seeing Pearl up ahead. "Pearl?"

"Amethyst?" Pearl grinned.

"Pearl!" Amethyst rushed up to her as the Gem got down, quickly embracing her. "You're alive!"

"Amethyst, I'm so glad I found you." Pearl said, looking around. "Where're the others?"

"I hoped they were with you." Amethyst pulled back.

Pearl sighed. "Guess we're on our own then."

"Seems so." Amethyst said. "At least you found Lion, so we've got an advantage." She gestured to the animal.

"Whoa, it's another Crystal Gem!" Betty said excitedly.

"She's so … beautiful." Royce said with a starry gaze.

"No, I wouldn't say that." Pearl chuckled, rubbing her head.

"Well, it looks like we just got a lucky break!" Jim said with a grin. "With you on our team, we have a better chance of defeating those alien bastards!"

"Language! And, what team are you talking about?" Pearl raised her brow.

"Oh yeah, this's Betty, Jim, Royce and Mel - we've teamed up to fight the aliens!" Amethyst smirked.

Pearl squinted. "… I'm sorry, but you're working with humans to fight Gems? No, offense, but you'd get killed."

"Well, you'd be surprised." Amethyst said.

"Yeah, we can hold our own." Jim said , tapping his shotgun.

Pearl blinked and shook her head, turning to Amethyst. "We need to find the others quickly."

"That's what we've been trying to do, but I have no idea where to look." Amethyst said. "I don't even know what the fuck Home World's even doing here."

"Well, whatever their plan is, it's connected to Rose somehow." Pearl said. "Destroying the Temple wasn't random."

"What do you mean?" Amethyst asked.

"They're targeting Gem memorials and monuments set up by Rose all around the world; whatever it is they're doing, Rose is at the center of it."

"So, what do we do now?"

"We need to find where Home World's base of operations is and destroy it before they can complete their plans." Pearl said. "If we do it, we can save the earth before it's destroyed."

* * *

CONNIE SWUNG her sword quickly as she blocked the rapid attacks of an Ammolite, locking with its flaming spear whose heat caused her to sweat. The girl pushed the weapon aside and slid beneath the gem, slashed its back. The blade got stuck in the gem however and the Ammolite spun around, smacked Connie aside and sending her tumbling on the ground..

The monster rushed at Connie and Steven slammed into the gem, knocking it aside and coming to her aide. He went to help her up when the second Ammolite stabbed him in the back, driving him into the ground. "Steven!" Connie cried out.

The boy tried to stand, but the gem pierced him further with its spear, drawing screams from him. Grabbing her sword, Connie rushed in and slashed the Ammolite's back, dislodging her sword and knocking it aside with the hilt. She came to his side and found Steven trying to stand again, pushing up against the spear that'd speared right through him!

"Steven, stop, you're making it worse," Connie said, gasping as she saw Steven's intestine tearing around the weapon.

Gnashing his teeth, Steven grabbed the spear and crushed it, letting his blood splatter on the ground. He gasped and wheezed, feeling his consciousness slipping as his vision blurred when he heard the Ammolites walking toward them. Slamming their spears together, the Ammolites fired a tube of fire at Steven and Connie before they could escape, covering them in flames!

Connie shielded her eyes, blinking as she realized she wasn't being burned, looking up and seeing Steven's shield around them! Steam erupted from Steven's body as his wound rapidly closed and he turned to the Ammolites, wiping blood off his lip as the healing was superficial. He summoned a shield and chucked it at a nearby wall, letting it bounce off it and smack into the Ammolites, knocking them to the ground. Steven rose to his feet, nearly falling and dismissed the shield, eyeing the cave and wondering where to go next.

"Are you okay, Steven?" Connie asked, seeing him shiver slightly.

"I'm fine." Steven said, "Just need to figure out a way to beat these guys."

"... Sure." Connie said, unconvinced, and drew out her sword.

Summoning two shields, Steven stared down the Ammolites, gritting his teeth as his insides bled. "Bring it on!" He cried out and rushed at them.

Steven lunged at the two gems, ready to collide when a tremor swept through the room, making him loose his footing and topple between the monsters. He rolled to his feet and looked around in confusion, ignoring what happened and charging in to attack again. He moved in for a punch when his shields vanished!

"What the -?" Steven froze in shock and an Ammolite drove its spear at him!

Jumping back, the boy dodged the attack, getting a hollow slash across his torso that tore his shirt and grazed his skin. He panted and looked at the wound left by the flaming spear, stunned as it was mere inches from destroying his gem and killing him! His thoughts were cut short as an Ammolite attacked again and he sidestepped, avoiding its swings.

The second Ammolite stabbed at Connie and she blocked it with her blade, moving away quickly as the gem quickly overpowered her and letting it stab the ground. Twirling her sword, the girl swooped in to cut the gem down when she felt a pang in her side and fell to the ground. She pushed herself up, wondering what'd happened when she felt a shiver creep up her spine that caused her to vomit.

Leaping away from the Ammolite's swings, Steven tried to conjure a shield again, failing to collect his energy when he saw Connie bowed over on the ground as the other monster approached! "Connie!" He cried out, not seeing the gem he was fighting lunging at him.

He turned and tried to block with a shield, failing to summon the energy and getting stabbed by the burning javelin instead! The weapon broke through his bone and he gnashed his teeth, pushing back against the Ammolite as the spearhead was inches away from impaling his head! He looked back at Connie, seeing the other gem draw closer to her, far out of his reach.

Acting quickly, Steven slammed his foot into the ground, smashing through the rock and destroying the entire room! Sending the cave collapsing further into the underground, the boy ripped his arm out of the spear, kicking the Ammolite away and jumping toward Connie who fell helplessly. Grabbing her mid-fall, Steven latched onto the side of the cave and held on, watching the Ammolites plummet to what seemed like an endless abyss.

He looked at the girl in his arms and frowned as he saw her wheezing and sweating profusely. Holding her close, he punched into the wall of the cave, breaking through into a small passageway that was dimly lit by more magic symbols. He slid to the floor and set her on the ground beside him, closing up the wound on his arm and hissing at the pain as the wound hadn't really healed.

Putting his own pain aside, Steven turned his attention to Connie, seeing her lay limply on the ground and breathe heavily. He checked her temperature and found that she had a fever, wondering what could be causing it so suddenly. Looking at his wounded hands, he tried to summon another shield slowly, moving his hands over her body as he tried to heal her.

Nothing but sparks came and he muttered to himself, pleading for something to happen as Connie let out a pained moan. He continued to move his hands, slowly losing hope when energy spread from his palms, covering her in a shield! He grinned, elated as he mustered his power again, and quickly began healing her when she gasped and shot up!

"Whoa!" Steven fell back, stunned as Connie had come to with a start.

"What happened?" She looked around, confused and saw the pink energy over her. "Why'd you bubble me?"

"Y-you'd fallen sick just now," Steven sat up, "I didn't know what was going on, so I tried to heal you."

"What? How'd I fall sick?"

"I don't know - I just looked away for a second and next thing you were down on the ground near a puddle of puke." He said, frowning. "But, I haven't even healed you yet and you're already back up."

Connie squinted, wondering what was going on when she saw the symbols on the wall out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe it's the cave; whatever's here must be affecting me somehow."

"Well, guess it explains why my powers went on the fritz just now too." Steven said. "We may be in way over our heads here."

"Heh, you got that right." Connie said, sitting back.

"We're gonna need to be more careful moving on." Steven said. "If whatever's in here can affect both humans and gems, we could die if we're careless."

"So, what now?" Connie turned to him.

Looking her in the eye, the boy huffed and stood up. "We keep moving and avoid any gems we come across until we find the source of this energy; if we stop it, we may defeat Home World and save the town." He looked at his gem, seeing it crack. "Let's go."

* * *

RUBY SIPPED the last of her drink and sat back on a bench in the resting area of the ships' military section, looking around for ways to slip away and escape. Even though she was becoming accustomed to living with the other rubies again, she needed to find the others. Despite that however, she was torn by how they were treated, wondering how things would change for them if she just left things be. But, what could she do?

"Hey, ruby!" Doc called out.

"Yes?" Leggy said.

"No, not you - the new one sitting with Beardy." Doc said, approaching them with Leggy, Navy, Army and Eyeball. "We're gonna bring her to Agate."

"Oh, c'mon, I thought I already explained it already; she's just from a different unit and she's not the ruby you lost." Oak said, "I mean, seriously, what'd a ruby have to hide anyway?"

"No, no, something doesn't sit right with this one." Doc frowned.

"Yeah, and you know what the handlers said whenever we're unsure about something?" Army said.

"We report it in." Doc said.

"Wait, wait, there's no need for that;" Ruby said, "I'm one of you guys, see?" She held up her left hand, displaying her gem.

"Yeah, but I still don't like it." Army crossed her arms.

"But, what if she is a friendly?" Leggy asked.

"Then why'd only **_one_** ruby be added to our unit without a handler even introducing her?" Doc said.

"S-She was busy - she said I should introduce myself." Ruby said quickly.

The rubies paused, considering it. "Well, sounds good to me," Leggy grinned.

"Same here!" Navy said.

"Well, then we should ask Agate herself; if things check out, then we'll be all good." Doc said, grabbing Ruby's arm. "C'mon."

"Um, uh … do you think it's a good idea to be bothering Agate right now? She seemed busy earlier." Ruby said as the other rubies pushed her along.

"No, she's nice." Navy said.

"Uh, maybe she might not like that." Leggy tapped her chin.

"Whether she likes it or not, we're gonna ask her." Doc insisted.

Army sniffed the air. "You know, you smell funny now that I think about it."

"Uh, what?" Ruby blushed.

"Yeah, and I kinda remember that smell too." Army growled. "Where have I smelled it?"

"You know what? Imma just go along with you." Ruby stepped away from them, heading toward the door. "Let's go see the Agate together!" She panted, hoping they wouldn't see her panic.

"Okay, I like your attitude." Doc smiled.

"I don't buy it." Army grit her teeth.

Ruby laughed uneasily at her statement, moving toward the elevator and hearing the other rubies follow her. Oak, who was confused, followed them as well and Ruby began to feel more uncomfortable as she drew more attention. Entering the lift, the Gem tried to think quickly of a means to escape before the rubies finally realized who she was.

* * *

THE CLOUD of dust slowly dissipated and rubble petaled down around Sapphire who lay in the heap that used to be a skyscraper. Her breathing was heavy and haggard, her wounds reopened and her blood pooling through her dress. She was no match for Jasper without her ice powers, learning painfully how poor her combat was on her own.

The orange gem walked through the debris, taking in the carnage she'd left in her wake. "Ooh, it's nice to finally break something again." She clenched her fist. "Harnessing kinetic energy is fun, but nothing beats the raw thrill of destruction!"

Sapphire looked up as she saw Jasper approach, trying desperately to pull herself up when the gem commander grabbed her and lifted her out of the rubble, pulling the Gem's body out of the lead pipe that'd pierced through her midsection! Sapphire cried in pain as a hole was left in her side, the blood flowing freely and dampening her leg that twitched in pain.

Jasper held Sapphire by her neck and touched her cheek. "Hmm, it's a shame to be honest; you sapphires are all beautiful." She clenched her fist, exposing veins through her arm. "But you have to do what you must."

Jasper punched Sapphire in the gut, causing a wave to rush through the smaller blue gem's body and burrow through the buildings behind her, blowing them to bits. Sapphire screamed silently as the wind was knocked out of her again, falling limply in the larger gem's grip and wheezing weakly. Bloodied and broken, she looked into Jasper's eyes, seeing nothing but anger and amusement.

"If you're gonna kill me … just do it." Sapphire coughed out blood, exhaling as she could feel her gem crack even more.

"Perhaps, but it gets boring to tell the truth." Jasper said, putting a hand on her hip. "Easy wins and shattering gems, maybe I should mix things up this time. Oh, I know!" A wicked grin spread on her face. "Why don't I keep you!?"

* * *

JIM'S HEAD shot up from the corner and he aimed his rifle into the next street, raising his brow as he saw nothing. "Huh … no Bloodstones here either."

"Well, guess we've caught a lucky break!" Royce said, stepping into the street with Mel, Betty, Amethyst, Pearl and Lion following behind him.

"Maybe they've moved on to another planet?" Mel asked.

"No, there's no way Home World would go through all this trouble just to wreck a few buildings and leave." Amethyst.

"Then what's going on here." Pearl said, walking beside Lion. "If what you've told me about your encounters is true, then we should've come across more Bloodstones by now."

"So, what gives?" Amethyst asked.

"Hmm, I don't know …" Pearl said. "They seemed intent on destroying everything, so them suddenly stopping could mean that -," Lion stopped suddenly and looked around, interrupting Pearl. "Lion, what's wrong?" She asked.

The animal scanned the area tensely, walking up ahead and looking at the sky at seemingly nothing. "Uh, does it normally do that?" Royce asked.

"Lion, what's wro -," Pearl stopped as the ground rumbled, almost knocking everyone off their feet. "What was that?" Lion growled and bared his claws, causing Pearl to worry and quickly summon a sword, but it disappeared! "What?"

Low moans emanated from the houses around them and Amethyst and the kids quickly stood at the ready, the Gem drawing her whips which also vanished immediately. Out of the buildings surrounded them came hordes of people who trudged out; some falling through windows and others through doors. They all looked ill, some unable to walk and others dragging themselves along before falling over and vomiting on the ground.

"What's happening!?" Betty panicked.

"It's some sort of zombie apocalypse!" Royce said.

"No, these people are alive, but …" Amethyst squinted when Mel fell to the ground. "Mel!"

"I don't feel so …" Mel passed out.

"What's going on?" Pearl exclaimed as the children all fell to the ground, moaning in pain and sweating.

"Are you okay?" Amethyst quickly picked Jim. "Jim, what's happening?"

"I -," Jim covered his mouth and puked on the ground.

"What is happening to everyone?" Pearl looked around, seeing that people had all collapsed on the ground.

"It's like a freak epidemic." Amethyst said, stunned.

"Well, I'll get to the bottom of it." Pearl said, projecting a clone that fizzled and disappeared right after. "What in the …?"

"Whatever's making them sick is also disrupting our powers." Amethyst said.

Pearl frowned and her eyes glowed, letting her see into another light spectrum where an invisible force was spreading all around them. "There's some kind of energy all over the place." Pearl scanned the area. "What kind of weapon is Home World using here?"

Lion walked down the street and looked around, seeing an invisible presence as well. With a mighty roar, the animal sent out a wave of energy that covered the downed civilians, instantly bubbling them all. Inside the spheres, they began to recuperate, mumbling to themselves in surprise as they got to their feet.

"Ugh, what happened?" Mel rubbed her head as she and the others recovered.

"Lion …" Amethyst said in awe.

"You protected them from the force that was making them ill!" Pearl smiled when Lion stumbled and nearly fell over. "Lion!" She quickly went up to him, seeing the animal pant. "He's using up his energy."

"Then we need to get out of here quickly." Amethyst turned to the kids. "Round the people up; we gotta get them out of the force's range before Lion passes out."

* * *

RUBY LOOKED AROUND as she stepped out of the elevator and sighed as nobody was around, glancing behind her and seeing Doc, Army, Navy, Leggy and Eyeball following close by. She was quickly running out of time and needed to find a way to get away from the gems. She wouldn't win if she fought them head on, and running away and hiding in the walls would only reveal her identity to them and have more gems on her tail. She had only one other option.

"Um, how long have you guys been serving Home World?" Ruby asked.

"What? Uh … couple centuries I think." Doc said.

"Fifty years." Leggy said.

"About a hundred." Eyeball said.

"Why do you ask?" Doc raised her brow.

"You ever heard about the Great Gem War?" Ruby turned to them.

"You mean the war where we defeated the Crystal Gems?" Doc frowned.

"Heh, yeah." Ruby glanced around, hiding her nervousness. "Before the war, rubies were mere guards serving the Agates, Jaspers and other high officials, but when the war came, we were elevated to infantry. We were so excited to be finally promoted and show what we could do for the Diamonds and we won many battles for them … but as the war went on, we started to lose." Ruby's expression fell. "I lost thousands of brothers and sisters on the battlefield and our defeats lowered our importance to the Diamonds; we became expendable."

"As White and Pink Diamond became more desperate to eradicate Rose Quartz and her Sisters, they began to send us on suicide missions, trying to bait out the Crystal Gems and expose where they were hiding on different worlds." Ruby said, her voice growing hoarse. "They tossed us aside at a moment's notice and never sent us backup whenever we were surrounded. They'd even kill some of us if it meant destroying another Crystal Gem base."

"Well, war requires sacrifice." Doc shrugged.

"Not the way they did it!" Ruby turned to them. "Not when you'd lose hundreds just to defeat a few defectors; they never cared about us! Every time we lose, we'd be culled! They'd just clone those that remained and toss us aside like dirt!"

"What are you getting at, Ruby." Army growled.

"Home World doesn't care about us! They'll use you and throw you away when they're done with you!" Ruby panted. "Don't you remember what happened with that box? That's how much they think of us; mere tools to be used and disposed of."

The five gems grew quiet and looked at each other, thinking of what she'd just said. Doc grew upset however. "You piece of shit!" She punched Ruby, sending her tumbling across the floor. "You're a Crystal Gem! I knew I'd seen you before!"

"No, you don't understand." Ruby tried to get up.

"You're trying to fill our heads with your lies like that fucking clod Rose Quartz!" Doc punched the floor and melted it around Ruby's hands and feet, trapping her. "Captain Jasper will want to deal with you herself!"

The rubies surrounded Ruby and ripped her out of the floor, binding her in the melted metal and dragging her along. All the while, Oak watched, unsure of what do next.

* * *

SAPPHIRE CRASHED on a pile of broken debris, skidding against the metal and glass that grazed against her open wounds and spread her blood on the ground. She breathed heavily, barely conscious and numb with pain, laying flat before Jasper who walked toward her nonchalantly. "I didn't think you sapphires could last so long." Jasper wrung her wrist. "Rose must've trained you well."

Sapphire looked to her left and saw the Home World ship she'd secured before, pulling herself on the debris and falling off the pile, crawling on the ground toward it. "You're still after that ship, huh? Too bad a good soldier like you is on the wrong side!"

Jasper lunged at Sapphire and punched her through her chest, shattering her gem! "What a waste …" Jasper said and walked over her corpse as it began to disintegrate.

Sapphire gasped as she came to and looked around, seeing that she was still on the ground. She looked around and saw Jasper walking slowly toward her, realizing what'd just happened. "Future vision!"

Jasper lunged at Sapphire with a punch and the blue woman quickly rolled out of the way, getting caught in the concussive wave as the orange gem punched the ground and broke the ground apart, sending her flying back. Sapphire caught herself in mid-air and slid on the ground, spreading ice as she came to a stop. She smiled as she saw this and Jasper stood up, turning to her.

"I love it when they run!" Jasper smirked and shot at her at blinding speeds.

Sapphire foresaw her coming and slid back, leaving ice trailing on the ground as Jasper collided with a building and sent out a wave that destroyed everything around her. Sapphire erected an ice shield that shattered when the shock wave hit and she sent ice from the ground beneath Jasper, freezing her from the bottom up!

"Why you -," Jasper tried to break out when the ice completely covered her, freezing her solid!

Sapphire tried to use her ice again, but her powers fizzled away again, leaving Jasper completely coated except for her right eye. Sapphire stumbled and nearly fell back, catching herself and turning her gaze to the Home World ship. She carried herself along, feeling her life slipping as everything around her became blurry. Jasper frowned and tried to break out of the ice as Sapphire entered the ship, but was too late as the blue woman went in and flew off with the vessel.

Sapphire fell to the floor inside the ship, pulling herself up and dragging her body that became heavier and heavier towards a chrysalis pod nearby. She slipped into the chamber and turned it on, activating it and passing out inside it.

* * *

THE EARTH rumbled again and Lion shuddered as it did, making him lose his footing and causing the bubbles around the humans to nearly fizzle out. "Don't worry Lion, we'll find a way out of here." Pearl said, looking at the Big Donut nearby, turning to Amethyst and the others. "I can see the shore up ahead! Just a little further!" Pearl turned back around when she bumped into something! "Huh?"

She raised her hand and felt something solid in front of her, but couldn't see anything. She raised her brow and looked into the other spectrum, seeing a large energy dome that spread up for several miles and covered the entire city! "There's an energy field here!"

"What?" Amethyst frowned and quickly went up to Pearl, touching the shield. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

"We can't get out of here?" Royce asked.

"What're we gonna do now?" Betty turned to the people behind her who started to panic.

Pearl looked to Lion and saw the animal starting to run out of breath. If they couldn't get out in time, the people could die!

* * *

THE EARTH shook underground as well and Connie fell to the ground. "Connie!" Steven cried and came to her side, helping her up.

"I'm fine, I just tripped." Connie chuckled nervously when the shield around her fizzled. "Uh oh."

"We must be getting closer to the source." Steven said.

"But if we run out of power, how're we gonna stop it?" Connie turned to him.

Steven tried to think when the ground shook again and the ceiling above them exploded, sending dust spraying around. Steven shielded his eyes and looked through the cloud, seeing a silhouette rising out of it. His eyes went hide with rage. "Coral!"

Coral chuckled and stepped out of the dust, summoning four crystal clones around her and revealing a glowing black band around her left arm. "I finally caught up with you!"


	7. For A Friend

**A/N: Hey, just wanted to let you know that we** **'ve started posting character designs on our deviantart and tumblr pages. Check 'em out to see how these character's would look like in our style!**

* * *

**"FOR A FRIEND"**

Dust and rock peppered down from the tunnel's ceiling around Steven and Connie, revealing Coral who stepped out of the haze with four crystalline clones. "I finally found you!" The pale gem grinned.

"Coral, I thought Connie shattered you already." Steven frowned, his gaze landing on a black band around Coral's arm that he hadn't seen on her before.

"She was close; that sword was mere inches from my gem, but I survived all the same." Coral cocked her neck. "I have to say that I'm impressed; I never thought a single gem and a human would make it this close to a conduit, although, I'm sure the spell's effects have already taken their toll on you." She sneered as she saw Connie's shield fizzle.

"Well, don't think it'll slow us down." Connie drew out her sword

"Spell or not, I won't let what happened last time happen again." Coral summoned a crystal blade around her arm. "I'll kill you before my handler finds you."

"What is your plan here? What does Home World want with Beach City?" Connie asked.

"Well, you see, the plan goes like this." Coral sent out the four clones that dashed at Steven and Connie.

Steven collided with two of the doppelgangers, blocking their attacks with their shield and Connie jumped away from those that attacked her. A clone swiped at Connie with its crystal blade, grazing Connie's side and nearly cutting her. The girl jumped back, staggering and nearly falling over, and looked at her side, seeing a hole cut into the shield. She grit her teeth as she felt her body go weak and the clones rushed at her.

Steven saw this and raised his arm, closing her shield up again, forgetting his opponents who knocked him down and stabbed him in his leg. "Steven!" Connie cried, trying to reach out to him and not noticing a clone that impaled her through her stomach with a spear, stopping her instantly.

"Connie!" Steven screamed as the girl coughed out blood and fell limply to the ground, Steven himself getting pinned down by a gem that stabbed his arm.

Coral laughed as she saw Steven squirm, running her finger along her crystal blade. "You two are pathetic! Caring for another soldier in battle will only get you killed!"

Steven grabbed the blade pierced into his arm and broke it, punching the gem off of him and trying to get to Connie when another clone rushed at him, stamping its foot on his chest and holding him down again. "You're interested in protecting her, aren't you?" The clone said, turning back to Coral.

"Guess we'll have to eliminate her!" Coral grinned, dashing at the downed girl with her sword held up high.

"Connie!" Steven cried.

* * *

JASPER CROSSED her arms as the large black beetle-shaped ship descended before her, its hangar doors flying open and revealing Helio who walked out of the ship. "What happened out there? We'd been looking for you." Helio said.

"My homing beacon got damaged when I was attacked." Jasper tapped her gauntlet, frowning as it flickered dimly.

"Are you alright? You could go through a chrysalis pod in case there's any damage." Helio said.

Jasper chuckled. "Please; as if a lowly Crystal Gem could harm me." She boarded the ship.

"My apologies; I was merely concerned." Helio followed her.

Jasper glanced at him and shook herself out of it. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"I was summoned by Lord Diamond in your absence."Helio said, the ship's hum growing louder as it took off.

Jasper hesitated. "What did Her Majesty say?" She asked.

"She said she merely wanted to move up the schedule and begin the process in less than an earth hour." Helio explained. "She's been sensing the Crystal Gems' recent interference."

"Then let's make sure to eradicate them." Jasper said, frowning as she saw Doc and the other rubies up ahead in the hall. "What are you doing out of your quarters?"

"Commander Jasper, we've got something important to tell you." Doc said.

"Don't waste my time; scramble the rubies and scout out for the Crystal Gems on the ground - I want them captured immediately." Jasper ordered.

"But I -,"

"That is an order, Doc Ruby; now get moving." Helio interrupted.

Doc frowned. "Yes, Sir." She huffed and watched the two gems leave, turning to Ruby who they had bound behind her.

"What do we do now?" Leggy asked.

Doc tried to think. "… We'll follow orders and capture the other gems; when we find 'em, we'll bring them and her to Jasper." She said, pointing at Ruby.

"Please, just listen to me," Ruby tried to say, "We gotta -,"

"Shut it!" Doc said, turning to the others. "Alright, let's go find those gems."

* * *

PEARL'S EYES glowed as she looked at the force field that spread over the city - her thoughts racing as she wondered how they'd get their way out of town. With their powers disrupted, they wouldn't be able to get through the shield without finding a gap in it first, one she doubted Home World had left as they searched the beachfront. She glanced at Lion repeatedly as she walked and noticed the animal become slower and slower as they went on.

"Hang in there; we'll find a way out soon." Pearl touched his mane.

The animal nodded when a ripple swept over the ground, causing him to stagger and the bubbles around the people to flicker. "Oh shit!" Amethyst cried.

"Lion, lion, just breathe and focus on my voice." Pearl quickly came to his side as he almost fell.

Lion looked at Pearl and caught his breathe, trying to pick himself back up when some of the bubbles popped, exposing the people inside to the spell! Four men fell to their knees, shivering and grunting in pain as the curse's effects took hold of them! Amethyst quickly came to their aid and held her hand out, summoning bubbles around the four which instantly fizzled out.

"Come on, come on!" Amethyst frowned, pouring more energy back and conjuring up the bubbles again. Unlike Lion's which were pink and solid, hers were purple and lumpy as if they'd pop at any moment. "Well, at least it's something."

"We gotta find a way outta here fast cuz I don't think Lion can hold out much longer." Royce said.

"You're doing great, Lion; it's alright." Pearl said petting the animal as it got its footing.

Seeing that he could stand on his own, Pearl looked into the other light spectrum, seeing the energy rippling around them. She frowned as she studied them closely, starting to see that the waves were flowing outward from a place nearby. "Ya find something?" Amethyst asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"I think I know how to stop the ripples." Pearl said.

"Alright!" Betty cheered some relief beginning to show in the crowd behind them.

"Well, I don't think it'll be a simple task." Pearl said, her eyes coming back to normal. "The ripples are coming from the Temple."

"The Temple? But I thought Home World destroyed it." Amethyst stated.

"Well, whatever's there is the source of these ripples." Pearl said. "If we can stop it in time, we can save these people from its effects.

* * *

CONNIE'S SIGHT grew hazy as a sweeping pain took over her limp body, her breath becoming haggard and strained. Blood soaked the ashen earth around her, the large hole in her stomach left by the blade now feeling numb as it bled profusely. She didn't know how she was alive nor what'd happen next, only that she was slipping between life and death.

Her eyes slowly rose and she saw Coral mere inches away from impaling her with a crystal spear, unable to do anything to stop it. Suddenly, the earth rumbled, a surge of energy blasting out of Steven at the last second as he knocked the clones off of him and he chucked a shield at Coral, smacking her away from Connie. Steven huffed in relief, trying to get to Connie when he collapsed to his knees, coughing blood on the ground.

Coral got to her feet, enraged and ready to fight when she saw Steven on his knees. "Pathetic! You interfere when you can't even stand? Foolish human!"

"I'm not done yet." Steven said, wiping the blood off his mouth and getting back up. "I'm gonna take you down."

"Alright." Coral chuckled, quickly dashing up to him and punching him into a wall!

Steven sprang right up, trying to pull himself out of the rock when a clone slashed him across the chest, spraying his blood on the ground and kicking him down. The boy tried to stand again, but was instantly bashed down by Coral. Coral and her clones launched a brutal assault on the boy, cutting and hitting him relentlessly as they tried to pound him to death.

Steven however ignored all of this, the resounding pain pushed to the back of his mind as he focused his eyes on Connie who bled out on the ground ahead of him. He sustained several wounds, but endured the onslaught as he tried to think of a way out of his situation. Catching a sword as a clone swung at him and getting his fingers cut, the boy pushed back on the assault and threw the doppelganger onto Coral, only to collapse back on the ground again.

"You can't ignore your body, human." Coral said, grinning as his body was covered in cuts and gashes. "It's over for you."

Steven looked in the eye then looked at Connie, pushing himself and taking a fighting stance. "Come on, let's go."

Coral scoffed and drove her sword at Steven, meeting hard rock as he dodged and let her stab the wall instead! She drew it out quickly and swung at him again, only for him to roll out of the way and get back up behind her. Coral slowed down her assault and watched the boy, noticing him keep a distance from her unlike before.

She sped up to him at blinding speeds and drove her sword at him, missing him completely as he sidestepped and punched her in the gut, sending her flying right into a wall of the cave. Steven smiled to himself, seeing Coral's clones crumble around him, when he suddenly felt a sharp pang that forced him to his knees. Hissing in pain, he looked to his shoulder and saw a large sharp crystal that was pierced into him!

"What the?" He raised his brow, stumbling forward as he felt lightheaded.

"Heh, you're pretty clever for a human." Coral laughed, picking herself out of the rubble. "But your speed could never keep up with mine in that state of yours."

"I'd beg to differ." Steven said, holding up a black armband.

"What!?" Coral jerked back, looking at her arm that was now bare! "My seal!"

Steven chuckled. "A spell that weakens gems occurs and suddenly you get a new accessory." He got to his feet. "Since you guys at Home World aren't big on fashion, I thought I'd figure out what this thing is."

"Ha! You think you can win because I'm exposed now? I can take you out even without my powers!" Coral snapped at him.

"Well, at least we're on an even playing field now." Steven held up the band, summoning an energy bubble around it.

Coral took a stance, ready to dodge when Steven fired the sphere at Connie, coating her in an energy field that shimmered brightly. "What the?"

"If I'm gonna die here, at least she'd be safe." Steven said, dragging himself forward.

"Your concern for her makes me sick!"

"Heh, no wonder you always fight with clones." Steven sneered. "You don't know how to be a friend." Coral screamed in anger and rushed up to him when the boy suddenly embraced her and held her tightly. "Goodbye, Connie."

"What?" Coral raised her brow.

A blinding light emanated from Steven's body and he exploded in a massive burst of energy, consuming Coral and destroying the cave around them!

The loud eruption shook up Connie as she slowly came to, her eyes feeling heavy as she felt Steven's energy lifting from her. She looked around, confused and looked to her arm, seeing Coral's band wrapped around it. She squinted then remembered the battle they were in, quickly rising to her feet and picking up her sword

She was ready to fight, but froze still as she saw a sea of rubble around her covered in a haze of smoke and dust. "Steven?" She walked through the maze looking for him, not noticing a gem crystal rolling on the ground and crumbling into dust. "Steven?" Pushing a rock aside, the girl stepped onward when she saw the boy lying flat on the ground. "Steven!"

She quickly came to his side and tried to shake him, up, getting nothing as he remained motionless. She quickly checked his pulse, feeling nothing and began to panic. She turned him over and gasped as he was covered in wounds, several more than she thought he had and looked at his eyes.

"Steven …"

* * *

THE DOORS slid open as Jasper entered the control room, followed by Helio as they looked over a holo-map of the city below them. Coming up to the dashboard, she summoned up light controls of the ship, shifting symbols and checking the ship's coordinates. She looked at a new icon at the beach and raised her brow.

"What's here?"

"A new addition by Lord Diamond; she's become more involved in the operation." Helio said.

"Well, we'd better not disappoint her." Jasper returned to piloting the ship when something caught her eye. "Ah, fuck." She walked toward the window.

"What is it?" Helio followed her.

"An annoying insect is on the loose." Jasper growled.

Helio looked out below where several icebergs littered the streets. "What is this?"

* * *

"SAPPHIRE …" RUBY looked out the window. "You're still out there." Army growled as she stood amongst the rubies in the hanger being prepped to head out into the field by Doc, her gaze focused on Ruby who stood by the window while bound by the metal bars.

"Alright, you'll split up into teams of ten so you can cover the most ground." Doc said, marking points on a holographic map. "Bloodstone transmissions show potential Crystal Gem activity at these coordinates and we need to make sure we capture them before they get too far away. Everybody got that?"

"Wait, how many teams are we supposed to be again?" Leggy asked.

"Well, we're supposed to be ten, so that means, uh …" Doc tried to think.

"I've had enough of this." Army growled, moving up to Ruby and grabbing her by the neck.

"Whoa, what're ya doin'?" Oak asked.

"She's a Crystal Gem! Why should we keep her alive!?" Army yelled. "I say we gut her before she tries anything fishy and we bring her carcass to Jasper."

"Wait, wouldn't Jasper get mad?" Ruby laughed uneasily. "She did say capture, not kill."

"No, I think Army has a point." Doc said. "If we take you out, you won't make problems for us."

Army tightened her grip around Ruby's neck and channeled heat through her hand. "I'm gonna make you bastards pay for what you've done to our friends!"

* * *

PEARL LOOKED out at a street corner and sighed in relief, turning back to Amethyst and the others. "Okay, I think we can split up here."

"Oh, c'mon, we can help." Jim whined.

"No, we can't keep you safe while you're bubbled and our powers are screwed up." Amethyst said.

"And we'd be too big a target with our numbers." Pearl added. "You'll just have to wait until we find something." She moved up to Lion. "Just hang in there, we'll be back." She petted the creature.

"Okay, now, stay here; we'll come back soon, I promise." Amethyst said to the group.

"Don't worry, we'll hold down the fort." Betty said.

Giving a nod, Amethyst left the group of humans behind, joining with Pearl as they went out onto the beach. The two moved slowly across the sand, their eyes shifting around to spot any Bloodstones that may be nearby. They started to come upon the rubble of the temple as they went on, their walking slowed as they saw their old belongings broken into the sand.

Amethyst huffed and continued walking, pulling Pearl away as she stared at a broken statue of Rose nearby. Moving past a large rock, the two continued their search when they saw a massive black cone-shaped tower stretch out wide before them, its height reaching the clouds and its walls covered in magical symbols!

"What in the world?" Pearl froze.

"When'd they put this thing up?" Amethyst said.

"Well, whatever it is, we've gotta destroy it!" Pearl yelled in rage, conjuring an energy spear.

"Pearl, wait!" Amethyst cried.

Pearl cried out in anger and fired beam out of the spear, colliding with an invisible force field around the tower that repelled the blast back at them! Reacting quickly, Amethyst drew out her whip and smacked the blast away.

"What're you doing!? You wanna get us spotted?" Amethyst yelled.

"Wait, how'd you do that?" Pearl asked.

"Do what?"

"Your powers are back!" Pearl grinned.

"Huh …" Amethyst squinted, clenching her whip and channeling fire through them. "Hey, they are!" She exclaimed when a loud explosion cut them off, drawing their attention as several Bloodstones came up to them. "And we're fucked, great."

* * *

A DEEP COLD wafted through the streets as ice spread across the road, Sapphire's eyes glancing around as she floated over broken Bloodstones. She descended to the mouth of another abyss which had a large black spike jutting out of it unlike the others. The spike however was burned clean in half by a Bloodstone's laser, leaving a smile on the blue woman's lips.

"Good thing these soldiers are easy to fool." She said, looking up at the force field in the other light spectrum. "If I destroy these, I might be able to finally break the spell." She smirked. "Let's do this."

* * *

CONNIE'S LIPS pressed against Steven's as she blew air into his lungs, moving hastily as she pressed his chest and tried to revive him. She listened for his heartbeat and got nothing, trying again and blowing air into him, getting nothing once more. She ran her hand through her hair in despair, having tried in vain for several minutes without any response.

"Steven ..." She sat back against a wall, tears running down her cheeks. "What do I do?"

The girl wept beside motionless body, her eyes glancing around as she tried to think of something when she saw Rose's sword glow. She looked on in surprise, seeing a vine growing out of the weapon's hilt and transform into a small blue rose! Connie's tears continued to flow as she looked on in confusion when she heard Steven gasp loudly.

"Whoa!" Steven yelled looking around in shock and feeling around, seeing his wounds completely healed. "What the….?"

"Steven!" Connie leapt onto him, holding him tightly.

"Connie? …What happened?" Steven frowned, seeing the rubble around them.

"I thought you were dead!" Connie said.

"I tried to save you and I …" Steven frowned, looking around. "Coral."

Connie turned Steven to her and kissed him softy, holding his face in her hands. "Don't leave me again."

"I, uh …" Steven tried to speak and the girl held him again, leaving him stunned as he held her.

* * *

"SO, THAT'S how it is, is it?" White Diamond huffed as she looked at the map of Beach City in her throne room, looking at a flickering light on the beachfront. "Fine, bring it on."


	8. The Death of Steven

**"The Death of Steven"**

STEVEN'S HEART raced as he beheld the giant standing before him, his mind filled with fear and his body left frozen in the energy that swept the room. Connie felt this pressure herself, nearly falling unconscious from the Diamond's presence alone. White Diamond squinted her black eyes and looked around, frowning as she didn't see what she came for.

"This can't be right." White Diamond said to herself and walked onward. "I was sure I sensed Rose's energy here." She stroked her chin, not noticing Steven who stood up upon hearing this. "Could the Tower be blurring my senses?"

"You know my mom?" Steven stood up.

"Hmm?" White Diamond turned, seeing the tiny boy below. "What are you?"

"Do you know about my mother?" Steven asked.

"Hmm." White Diamond raised her arm, telepathically lifting Steven to her eye-level. "Your energy seems similar to hers, but much weaker … You must be one of her offspring, merged with the DNA of a Terran. Disgusting."

"What do know about my mom!?" He yelled.

White Diamond chuckled. "You're less than pathetic." She flicked him aside, knocking him onto the ground. "My senses must have been clouded by the Black Tower's energy - I'd better get the operation underway." She summoned a light mandala and turned it, causing the earth to shake.

Steven pushed himself up and saw White Diamond about to leave, hastily following her. "Wait! Tell me about my mother!"

"I'd suggest you retreat from this world, infant." White Diamond said. "That's what your defective mother would have done - such a coward."

Anger boiled in Steven as she said this and he screamed in rage, dashing toward the Diamond with a wild punch when a sudden wave rushed into him, sending him tumbling several meters back. The boy rolled and bounced off the earth several times, grazing his skin and cutting himself against the jagged rock as he fell and crashed into the wall of a cave. Wheezing, Steven pushed a boulder off him, falling to his knees and gasping as his body was covered in gashes.

White Diamond chuckled and turned to him. "A mere gem-human hybrid dares to strike a goddess? Is it foolishness or bravery?" She smiled and raised her hand, charging energy through it. "Fine, I'll humor you."

* * *

A WAVE of pain swam through Pearl as she looked around the control room of the Black Tower, her ears flooded in a cacophony of noises and her eyes straining as her vision began to distort. She looked at Amethyst who's body became see-through and began to see her energy swirling inside her, perplexed as to what was going on. A muffled sound began to grow louder and Pearl squinted, wondering what it was.

"Pearl!" Amethyst yelled.

"What?" The pale woman jerked back, her now red eyes squinting as a black ring with a comma shape on it formed around her pupil, though she didn't notice

"Will you stop zoning out - I was telling you that those magic circle things got bigger!"

Pearl turned to the light discs and frowned as they now stretched from the floor to the ceiling. "I …" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Amethyst, something's come over me and I can't think straight." She rubbed her head.

"Well, pull yourself together; we have to stop this quickly." Amethyst said, wincing as she heard Betty cry out in pain.

"Pearl, Amethyst, can you hear me?" Sapphire's voice echoed.

"Sapphire?" Amethyst raised her brow.

"Sapphire, where are you?" Pearl looked around.

"I can't say, but I'm using a mind-link to contact you." The blue woman said. "Are you in the Black Tower's control room?"

"Yes, but, where have you been? If you contacted us earlier, we could've found you by now." Pearl said. "Are Steven and Connie safe?"

"I didn't reach you because I wanted to avoid being caught by a telepath from Home World, but I have no choice now." Sapphire said. "Pearl, turn to the magic circles so I can see them too."

"Um, okay." Pearl stuttered and turned to the light discs.

"This's more complex than I thought - if only I was there, I could break this myself." Sapphire huffed. "Alright, I'm transmitting the technique to break the magic circle and send the Tower into a critical meltdown - after you do this, you have to leave the building immediately!"

"But will it free the kids? Is it the source of the ripples?" Amethyst asked.

"It should hopefully free the children I see with you, and yes, it's the source of the ripples that took our powers earlier." Sapphire said. "I have to go."

"Sapphire, wait!" Pearl yelled.

Amethyst looked around, waiting for Sapphire to speak, but getting nothing. "Guess we're on our own again." She turned to Pearl. "So, how do we stop the magic circle-things?"

Pearl sighed in exasperation. "I don't like this idea at all."

* * *

RUBY'S EYES were wide with terror, her heart racing and her body frozen in place as she watched Jasper beat her way through the rubies. Fear took over her, the memories of the brutality she endured under the orange gem washing over her. She tried to back away from this, looking for a way to escape when she felt something strange - something was off about Jasper.

Charging fire through her legs, Leggy leapt towards Jasper and kicked her in the face, causing her to skid across the floor. "Come on! You think you can beat me with shit like that?" Jasper yelled. "Show me how much you hate Home World, you fucking clods!"

"Maybe this will shut you up then!" Oak threw a punch at her, but she caught it easily.

Laughing, the orange woman broke the red man's arm, lavishing as he cried out in pain. Jasper grabbed Oak's head and slammed him onto the ground, smashing her foot through his chest and poofing him instantly. Five rubies saw this and steeled themselves, charging at her and conjuring their weapons, only to get knocked away as Jasper punched the air in front of her, sending out a concussive wave that barreled through the gems and poofed them as well!

Doc's mouth fell agape as she saw this, watching as the five gem crystals fell to the floor. "So, this is the power of a Commander …"

"Don't give in to your fear!" Army growled and conjured her chisel knife. "We can beat her if we do it together!"

"Right!" Leggy yelled.

Army charged on and Leggy, Eyeball, Navy and Doc followed, coming at Jasper from all sides. The gems launched a layered attack on Jasper: Army with her chisel knife, Leggy with her fiery kicks, Eyeball with her laser vision, Navy with her strength and Doc with her fire whips, but Jasper countered it all. Jasper deflected Eyeballs lasers with her gem crystal and sent it toward Navy, grabbed Doc's whips and lassoed Leggy, shattered Army's knife with a punch and backhanded her, knocking her and the others away all at once.

"You're all pathetic." Jasper cracked her knuckles.

Ruby watched the rubies grovel on the floor and frowned. "What's going on here?"

"Now, let's finish this!" Jasper raised a fist when a line of ice shot out from behind her, freezing her solid! "What?" She struggled against the frost.

"Still not watching your back, huh?" A familiar voice came.

"Sapphire?" Ruby smiled.

"Well, who else would it be?" The blue woman walked out from behind Jasper.

"Sapphire!" Ruby dashed up to the blue woman and embraced her. "You're alive!"

"I'd never leave you like that." Sapphire held her tightly, but quickly pulled back. "Ruby, we have to get out of here; Steven's in danger!"

"I know; those monsters could attack him at any moment."

"No, I saw him die!" Sapphire pulled her hair back, showing her her eye that was welling with tears. "We have to go now!"

"Okay." Ruby said then looked to the other rubies. "But what about them? I can't leave them behind like this."

Sapphire looked to the other rubies and sifted her mind. "Alright, I have an idea."

* * *

STEVEN GRIT his teeth and pushed back against the pressure with his shield, his body overwhelmed and the earth around him breaking to pieces as White Diamond smothered him. The white woman crossed her arms and pointed nonchalantly at the boy, barely putting any effort as she overwhelmed him with psionic energy. She flicked her finger and the ground beneath him went up in a massive explosion, sending rocks flying all around, knocking Connie off her feet and making the cave tremble.

White Diamond looked through the cloud of dust and smiled as she saw Steven lying in a heap and covered in bruises. "Hmm, nearly vaporized him." She raised the boy's limp body telepathically and smacked it across the ground. "Hello, are you alive?"

Pain reverberated through Steven's body as he was flung around like a rag doll, the agony resounding as he bounced off the ground, was smacked onto the roof and chucked into the far off wall. Air weakly escaped his lungs as he fell to the ground, rolling to a stop near Connie who was slowly getting up. "Steven!" She ran toward him.

"No, no interruptions." White Diamond flicked her hand, smacking Connie onto the ground and knocking her unconscious instantly. Moving her fingers in a 'come hither' motion, the woman raised Steven into the air once more, looking at his wounds. "Is that all you got? I thought if you were going to grab my attention, you'd try and entertain me at least." Steven looked at her weakly, his eyes swollen and bruised, and passed out. "How unfortunate."

Using the same hand, the woman lifted Connie up, seeing that the girl's head was covered in blood and she was out cold. "Wake up, I'm not done with you yet." The woman said, twirling her hand and pulling them back to consciousness. "Now you." She turned to Connie, binding her in an invisible grip. "Witness the power of a goddess!"

"Stop, please!" Connie cried.

White Diamond spread out her hand and held Steven's limbs out wide, drawing out a pained scream as she turned his body into pure energy. Closing her hand, she drew the energy into herself, disintegrating him when the wall to her right exploded, knocking him out of her grasp! Out of the dust came a giant twenty foot ruby who broke its way into the cave, lowering its arm and letting Sapphire and Ruby slide down.

Raising her arms, the blue woman erected a massive wall of ice across the room, dividing the space and blocking off White Diamond. "How much time do you have in there, Doc?" She turned to the giant.

"We only have a few seconds left; you have to hurry!" The giant said in several voices at once.

"Steven, Connie!" Sapphire cried as she saw the two splayed on the ground, sending out ice on the ground and covering them in frost cocoons. "Okay, Doc, let's get out of here!" She hovered the two toward her and flew off with Ruby following close by, slowing to a stop as she realized the gem had remained behind. "Doc?"

"Hey, you guys?" Ruby turned to the fusion.

"It's White Diamond …" The fusion said.

"Doc, we have to go." Sapphire said, becoming confused. "… Doc?"

"T-this's our chance." The giant laughed softly. "No, Army, what're you doing!?" Doc yelled from within. "We need to get out of here before it's too late!" "Army, listen to her!" Oak chimed in. "No!" Army yelled back. "We can put a stop to all of this right here!"

"What're you guys doing!?" Sapphire shouted.

"We have what we came for, we need to go now!" Ruby yelled when she felt the room shake.

The ice wall began to rapidly melt and White Diamond walked through it, seeing the gems standing before her. "More insects? Have you all come to die?"

"You're the one dying here, Diamond!" The fusion yelled.

"And you might be?" White Diamond asked nonchalantly.

"I am the fusion of over fifty rubies; I am Alpha Ruby god!" Alpha yelled.

"Army, stop!" Ruby cried.

"God?" White Diamond chuckled and held up her hand. "You don't know the meaning of the word." She pulled the fusion toward her telepathically. "Let me show you the power of a god."

White Diamond flicked her finger and the earth before her sunk down and exploded, upheaving soil and rock that went flying upward!

* * *

THE CITY above shook violently as half of it broke and exploded to pieces, the concussive wave spreading out and sending cars and people on the remaining half high into the sky! On the outskirts, the ground trembled and knocked trucks on their side, forcing Daisy, Talbot and the other soldiers off their feet.

"What in heaven's name was that?" Talbot asked, pushing himself up.

"An earthquake?" Daisy said when she heard the sound of water rushing. "Oh God …" She gasped as she saw a tsunami heading their way!

* * *

RUBY LOOKED out of the ice in horror in the underground cave, seeing the rubble falling all around her as she, Sapphire, Connie and Steven were held within a hovering ice shell. Sapphire held her hands up tensely, trying to keep the ball in tact when she looked up and gasped. "No …"

Blood, bone and ripped apart flesh sprayed out before White Diamond, the white woman soullessly watching the remains of the ruby fusion fall into the gigantic abyss she carved into the earth with her power. Seeing half the city fall into the earth along with thousands of human corpses and debris, the Diamond huffed. "How boring …"

* * *

PEARL AND Amethyst stumbled forward as the tremors reached them in the Black Tower, looking around in confusion. "The Tower must be starting up." Amethyst said and sighed, raising her hands toward the light mandala. "So, how do we control this magic thing?"

"Magic isn't really magic; it's a science - the harnessing of energy from different dimensions and manipulation of the source code of reality." Pearl began. "To control the light disc, we'll need to pour our energy into it and shape it in a way to change its pattern and that new pattern will send the Tower into a meltdown, destroying it."

"... And how do we do that?" Amethyst asked.

"We must first align our energies, then I'll take it from there." Pearl said. "This process needs two people to harmonize in order for it to work."

"And we're fucked again." Amethyst scoffed. "I mean shit, how're **_we _**gonna fucking harmonize? We don't even agree on what to eat for lunch."

"You know I find eating repulsive, though unfortunately necessary, but we should at least try." Pearl said. "Now, just breathe and focus

Amethyst took a deep breath and looked at the magic circle, pouring out her energy in small balls of light that floated toward it. She smiled as her essence went out, only to be irritated as she saw Pearl's go out in sand like specks that were far smaller in size. Their power entered the mandala and caused it to surge with electricity that went out and electrocuted the kids trapped in the black tar!

"Pearl, what the fuck was that!?" Amethyst growled.

"What're you talking about?" Pearl frowned.

"I thought you said we should pour our energy into it, not fucking trickle it out like some Tinkerbell shit!"

"Well, you're the one who decided to overdo it like always!" Pearl retorted.

"Ah, fucking hell." Amethyst huffed. "See? We're fucked out here! How the fuck are we supposed to do this bullshit!"

"You know, you could curse a little less."

"Oh, suck a cock!" Amethyst said and looked to the kids. "How're we gonna save them …?"

Pearl looked at the light disc then to the black tar, sifting her mind. "… You were right earlier."

"About what?" Amethyst turned to her.

"About …" Pearl blushed. "About being jealous of you earlier; I … I have been lonely." She laughed softly. "You find it so easy to interact with humans - you already found friends in the space of hours … whenever I do it, I just fumble around and embarrass myself."

Amethyst looked to her and smiled. "Ah, I was just being an asshole; you'll be fine." She draped her arm over her. "You're kind, you say what you mean and you're pretty cute."

"Stop it, Amethyst." Pearl's face reddened.

"Well, it's true." Amethyst beamed. "I'm sure there's a guy out there who'd be into you."

Pearl scoffed. "Maybe."

"That's the spirit!" Amethyst patted Pearl's shoulder and turned to the light disc. "Alright, I'll reduce how much energy I put in." She turned to her. "Let's fuck up this Tower."

"Indeed, let us fuck it." Pearl nodded and held her hands to the magic circle.

Amethyst deadpanned. "Never curse again."

"Yeah, it felt uncomfortable." Pearl said blankly.

Focusing on the magic circle, Pearl released her energy into it, watching it go out in tiny specks that slowly entered the light disc. Looking to her left, she saw Amethyst do the same, smiling as their energies began to meld seamlessly into the disc. Receiving Amethyst's power, Pearl went to work, weaving hand signs and unraveling the intricate patterns of magic circle.

She began to change the arrangement of the symbols, rerouting the Tower's power output so that it'd overload and destroy itself. As she did so however, she saw where the energy was going in the first place, seeing it head into a place underground that made her panic. Calming herself, she focused on the task at hand, completing the operation and reworking the light disc.

The magic circle stopped oscillating and Amethyst looked around, lowering her hands. "So, we did it?"

"Yes, but we have to leave; the Tower's going to self-destruct in five minutes." Pearl said.

"Alright, let's go." Amethyst said, turning around and seeing the tar cocoons still intact. "What's going on? I thought we stopped the Tower."

"Yes, the Tower's deactivated." Pearl said.

Amethyst ran up to the cocoons and tried to pull one of them open, still being unable to break them. "No, no, no, no!" She summoned her whip and charged fire through it, striking the casing as hard as she could, but it had no effect. "No …" She began to panic. "Mel? Betty? Royce? Jim? Are you okay?" They didn't answer. "Please, answer me …" Amethyst said, falling to her knees.

Pearl looked onward in disbelief, seeing her friend grieve and the once lively children were silenced. She reached out to her when a loud crack caught their attention, making them immediately turn tot he cocoons which were breaking apart! Mel, Betty, Royce and Jim fell out of the casings and collapsed on the floor, dazed while some coughed badly.

"What happened?" Jim rubbed his head.

"You're alive!" Amethyst cried, running up to the four and embracing them.

"Wait, what about the Tower?" Royce asked. "Shouldn't we -,"

"That doesn't matter right now; I'm just glad you're all okay." Amethyst held them tightly, tearing up slightly.

Pearl smiled as she stood back and watched them bond, wiping a tear from her eye. Mel however winced under Amethyst's grip. "You're holding a little too tight." She said, only to get tugged at more.

* * *

WHITE DIAMOND looked to roof of the cave, frowning as she no longer sensed the Black Tower's energy. She began to walk away when Ruby's cries caught her attention, making her notice the four encased in the ice shell. She raised her hand, forcing the ball open and drawing Steven's body out of it.

"Let go of him!" Sapphire fired ice at White Diamond, only for it to instantly melted away.

"That energy I sensed earlier was a mere diversion so you could ruin my plans." White Diamond said. "I don't know how a primitive creature like you could pull off such a feat, but I will end your life as retribution."

"Let him go!"

"Goodbye, insect." She flung her arm out, sending out a wave that shattered Steven's gem crystal!

"Steven!" Sapphire screamed.

* * *

"STEVEN!" PEARL'S voice echoed in his thoughts as his mind went back to a few years ago, back to the training grounds off-world where he was with Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl. He grunted as he tried to push himself up, his body feeling numb as Pearl quickly ran to his side. "Garnet, you could have injured him!"

"Well, how would he learn otherwise?" Garnet asked blankly.

"I think he's had enough training." Pearl frowned, helping the boy up.

"Yeah, you're right - we've been at it for weeks; we should just face it." Amethyst crossed her arms. "The brat's never gonna learn regeneration."

"Amethyst!" Pearl snapped at her.

"Pearl, step away from him." Garnet walked towards them.

"I said we're done training, Garnet." Pearl said.

Garnet summoned a gauntlet around her right arm. "I said step away!"

"Garnet …?"

The taller Gem grabbed Steven's leg and ripped it in half, drawing out a scream from the boy as his blood splattered on the floor. "Garnet, what're you doing!?" Amethyst yelled.

"What is wrong with you!?" Pearl growled.

Garnet ignored the two and tossed the dismembered limb aside, dismissing her gauntlet and kneeling before Steven. "I want you to slow your breathing and focus on my voice, Steven, ignore everything else." Pearl tried to interject when Amethyst pulled her aside, making her pay attention. "Can you do that for me?" Garnet said, touching his face.

"Y-yes." Steven struggled, breathing heavily as he saw his severed knee bleed out.

"Shut everything out of your mind; just focus on my voice." Garnet held his face with both hands. "Now, focus on the pain you feel, the sting, the agony; embrace all of it. Be one with your body in this moment. Feel the sensation of your skin, your blood rushing, your very cells swirling inside you. Feel it all."

Steven caught his breathing and slowed it down, shutting his eyes. "Once you are one with yourself, you'll be one with everything around you." Garnet continued. "And once that happens, you will have full control of your body. Now, heal yourself."

* * *

GARNET'S WORDS echoed in Steven's mind as he floated in the underground cave, his senses heightened as he felt everything around him. The grief in Ruby, the horror in Sapphire, and the anger in White Diamond. He felt those emotions clearly like they were his own, but he couldn't feel himself.

"It's too bad I wasn't there when Rose died, I would have killed her myself." White Diamond said. "But I guess a useless downgrade of her will suffice." She let him fall and walked away. "What a waste of my time." She prepared to teleport when she felt something strange, turning around and jerking in surprise. "What?"

Steven floated in a purple aura before her, creating tremors around him that could be felt in the city above. "A useless downgrade? I guess you don't know who I am!" The boy said in a ghostly voice as his eyes began to glow, energy bursting out of him and forming the shape of the upper-half of humanoid being behind him. "I am Steven Universe!"

"An astral projection?" White Diamond frowned, wondering if this was the power she sensed before. No, it was still different from this. "This energy you are exerting, you shouldn't have it!" White Diamond released an aura around her and walked toward him. "Whatever that bitch Rose was up to made you even more dangerous than I thought. You must be eliminated!" She raised her arm, ready to attack when a magic circle appeared behind her, catching her off-guard and absorbing her instantly!

Sapphire looked on in surprise as this happened, turning her attention to Steven who remained floating, seemingly confused as she was. She watched him curiously, wondering what was going on when the boy's aura vanished, leaving him plummeting toward the abyss! Reacting quickly, Sapphire created a bed of ice beneath Steven, catching him and hovering him toward her.

Sapphire picked Steven up and looked at him, seeing that he was out cold. She looked around her, seeing Ruby weeping and Connie lying unconscious, and wondered what to do next.

* * *

JASPER STOOD on the beach and watched from afar as Daisy pushed the tsunami back with her psionic power, impressed that earth had someone that powerful. She turned around, seeing Helio leading Bloodstones to load the last of their cargo into a ship and walked up to him when she froze in place. She was stunned as she felt White Diamond's energy disappear, looking to the sky in confusion.

"She left …?" She frowned.

"Why would she do that?" Helio came up to her. "She was so close to completing her operation."

"I don't know …" Jasper sifted her mind. "But this smoothens things for us; we can get off-world without her in our way."

"Are you sure you're ready to do this, Jasper? There's no going back once they learn about this." Helio said.

"I'm sure of it." She said, looking to her right as Lapis' ship arrived. "Our time has come."


	9. Epilogue

**"** **EPILOGUE"**

RUBY THRUST her fist upward, sending a fireball through the thick layer of earth above and blasting a hole toward the surface. Sapphire levitated them up from underground with ice, descending gingerly onto the road to avoid rocking Steven and Connie who were still unconscious. Sapphire looked to the sky and saw SHIELD and military aircraft swarming into the city, realizing that the force field had fallen.

"The barrier's down - Pearl and Amethyst did it." Sapphire said, receiving a silent nod from Ruby. Glancing at her and seeing the red woman's bloodshot eyes from all her crying, she rose to her feet and lifted Steven and Connie off of the ice. "We need to get to the Black Tower soon - if we become Garnet, we should make it there faster."

"Yeah …" Ruby said, looking at her hands and sighing. "I don't want to be Garnet anymore."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sapphire turned to her.

"We've been Garnet for a long time now and I thought I'd finally changed since we left Home World, but I haven't." Ruby said, bending her knees to her chest. "When I found the other rubies, I just became my old self again; I just blended into the crowd. I was just the same as I'd always been, just disappearing - and then the rubies were …" She sighed shakily. "I chose not to think for myself and took a back seat and it's the same when we're Garnet. We're not even us anymore, but someone else entirely …"

Sapphire looked to Ruby and sifted her mind, sitting back down next to her. "I know how you feel." She looked at her hands. "When we were un-fused, I didn't even realize that we were for a while and thought I was still Garnet - I'd become so used to just taking a back seat to Garnet's mind as well. It felt strange being myself, but I'd never felt more alive; I was actually me again." She opened and closed her hands. "And there's a lot I've been running from all this time being her …" She sighed. "We should spend some time apart and find ourselves; find out who we are away from her."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "I'll take Connie from here." She stood and picked the girl.

"Alright." Ruby said and piggybacked Steven, assessing how far the beach was. "Let's go."

* * *

WHITE DIAMOND squinted as she fell out of a portal, looking around and realizing that she was back in her palace in Home World. Confused, she rose up to her feet when she saw a tall, glowing, three-eyed yellow man standing before her clad in a black suit and coat embellished with a constellation pattern. Stunned, the white woman quickly rose to her feet.

"Bill Cipher? W-welcome to Home World!" White Diamond stuttered and curtseyed. "W-why have you summoned me?"

"You were about to colonize earth, weren't you?" Bill paced around.

"Y-yes, I - that is something I had told you before; it is in our plans to take over this universe and earth is part of it."

"I know that, but did you forget the Summit of the gods we're going to?." Bill turned to her. "Earth isn't free for the taking anymore, remember?"

"Oh, what do those old men know? Nobody's more powerful than us." White Diamond scoffed. "If they interrupted us, we'd annihilate them."

Bill chuckled and walked up to her. "You have a lot to learn if you want control over the multiverse; timing is important. Never overestimate your power, because in the infinite cosmos, there's always someone stronger." He held her chin, looking her in the eye. "When I've made the arrangements, we'll take over that puny rock and everything in it. We just need to be patient for a while."

White Diamond became lightheaded as she looked into his eyes, her face heating up in excitement. "... Y-yes, Lord Cipher."

"Now." Bill stepped away and looked around the throne room. "Did you find what I'd asked for?"

"Oh, yes, I did!" White Diamond quickly said and held her hand out, conjuring the black chest from earth and hovering it over to him. "It's just as I'd thought; Terra is fertile."

Bill Cipher turned to her and flicked his hand, telepathically opening the chest and drawing out the black skull with eight eye sockets. Bringing it over to him, he held it in his hand and crushed it, turning it into a ball of radiant energy. "Yes, this is perfect!" A wicked grin spread across his face.

* * *

TWO MONTHS later, Steven placed a rose on Greg's tombstone, stepping back and looking at it solemnly. He, Pearl, Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire and Connie were among several thousand people during the Invasion Memorial on the city's outskirts, standing in a valley littered with countless graves. Steven's looked at the headstone, an empty expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, dad; I failed you." He began. "You looked out for me for so long and I couldn't be there when you needed me most. We couldn't even find your body." He paused, Pearl tearing up as he spoke. "I hope you and mom can find each other again." He sighed and walked away.

"Steven -," Pearl reached out to the boy, but Amethyst held her back, holding her as she wept in her arms.

Steven's mind clouded with thoughts, his eyes set to the ground and ignoring the people he walked past. He bumped into someone and he stepped aside. "Sorry, didn't look where I was going."

"Hey, you're that kid, right?" A woman's voice came. "The one living with the aliens?"

"Yeah?" He looked up to her.

"My name's Daisy Johnson." Daisy held her hand to him. "I work with SHIELD."

"SHIELD? Never heard of it." Steven said, not shaking her hand.

"Well, you don't need to." She put her hand back. "I wanted to thank you for what you did back there; you saved the city."

"Doesn't look I did much." He looked at a family mourning to his right.

"Well, you did your best." Daisy said. "It'd have been far worse if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, I guess …" Steven frowned, walking away from her.

Daisy watched Steven leave and grew concerned, deciding to let him go. Turning around, she saw the Crystal Gems up ahead and huffed. "Okay, here goes."

* * *

"THANK YOU again for having us, Mrs Maheswaran." Pearl said as she received a cup of tea in the dining room of the Maheswaran's house where she, Steven, Connie and the other Gems were.

"No problem; you can stay here for as long as you like." The woman said. "If it weren't for you, who knows what'd have happened to our daughter."

"We did what we could." Sapphire said, receiving a nod from Mrs Maheswaran.

"Honey!" A man's voice called from the other room.

"I'm coming!" Mrs Maheswaran answered, turning to the others. "I'll be back." She left the room.

Seeing the woman leave, Pearl looked at the others, an air of grief filling the room as none of them spoke to each other. Swirling her tea with a spoon, she cut the silence. "We need to figure out where we go from here. The Temple is gone and we can't stay here forever."

Sapphire glanced around, seeing that nobody was responding. "I suggest we find out what Home World's plans were; they may have all vanished, but it doesn't mean they won't come back."

"Yeah, and none of it makes any sense anyway." Amethyst said. "If they were trying to colonize by Terraforming like usual, then they wouldn't have destroyed the city like they did. And I didn't see any Lapis Lazuli machines anywhere."

"I think Home World is after more than simple Terraformation." Sapphire said. "I had gained access to a Home World ship during the invasion and found a log referring to a crusade Home World has been taking part in for a long time to create more gems which they're trying to start up again after it was interrupted by a convergence a couple years ago."

"Convergence?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know what that means either, but Home World is up to something big." Sapphire frowned. "If the log is to be believed, then they have the means to make more gems on a massive scale and they were probably using earth to do it."

"That must be what the Black Tower was for." Amethyst said.

"Probably." Sapphire said. "And if that is the case, we need to find a way get to Home World and stop the Diamond's plans once and for all."

"But, how would we get there? All warp pads leading to Home World were destroyed during the war." Pearl said.

"The ship's logs had mentions of functioning warp pads on earth, though it never specified where exactly." Sapphire said. "If we can find one, we can get there."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You want to go to Home World and fight the Diamonds?" Connie raised her brow. "That's suicide!"

"Well, of course we won't just go there and fight them head to head - we'll have a plan." Sapphire said.

"Yeah, but you saw how powerful White Diamond was and we couldn't do anything to her." Connie said. "There's no way we'd succeed."

"I kinda agree with Connie here." Ruby said.

"The fate of earth is at stake, Connie." Sapphire said. "We'll find a way so it stays safe."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Amethyst sat back.

"Pearl?" Ruby looked for support.

"Alright, we'll leave tomorrow." Pearl said, surprising Ruby and Connie. "Are you okay with that, Steven?"

Steven raised his head, seemingly cut off from deep thought, and glanced around. "Tomorrow's fine." He got to his feet. "Excuse me."

Ruby watched Steven leave then turned to Sapphire. "Sapphire, what're you thinking? Invading Home World's insane!"

"I told you, we'll have a plan; we'll be prepared." Sapphire said.

"Home World beat us down with only a fraction of their forces - facing their whole military is crazy!" Ruby yelled.

"Whether it's Jasper, White Diamond, Blue or Pink, we'll find a way to stop them." Sapphire insisted.

Ruby huffed in defeat then sat back, sifting her mind. "There was something off about Jasper though."

"What're you talking about?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know, it's just …" Ruby crossed her arms. "It's like she was toying with us. When my cover was blown in the Home World ship, instead of killing all of us when she could, she simply poofed us until Sapphire came and stopped her."

"... What're you saying?" Sapphire's brows curved.

"I'm saying Jasper let me and the other rubies escape; if she wanted to kill us, she could've done it in one shot." Ruby said.

"But, why would Jasper let you go? I thought she hated the Crystal Gems like anyone else who opposes Home World." Amethyst said.

"I don't know why, but I know what I saw; Jasper was simply stalling for time." Ruby frowned. "Jasper helped us escape."

* * *

PERIDOT RUBBED her hands together frantically and wrapped herself in the thick garment as she headed up the snowy mountain with Lapis, Helio and Jasper up ahead. Looking at the small village down below, the green woman quickly checked her scanners, frowning at what she saw. "Negative sixty degrees Celsius and dropping - are we there yet, Commander Jasper?" Peridot called.

"Just keep walking! It'll only feel longer if you keep thinking about it." Jasper said, waving her arm dismissively.

Peridot frowned and rubbed her shoulders. "Why am I so affected by Terran weather? A Gem shouldn't be subject to human weakness." She blew on her hands when Lapis draped her jacket over her, leaving her confused. "Lapis? You're not cold?"

"I only got us these so we wouldn't stand out amongst the Terrans too much, but you seem to need it." Lapis smiled at her, receiving an embarrassed blush. "Now, come on, don't lag behind."

Peridot mumbled to herself and walked on as Lapis gave way. "I don't trust Jasper."

"Oh, come on, after all this time working with her?" Lapis chuckled.

"Well, she's quite violent - she doesn't seem that much different from every other soldier on Home World." Peridot said.

"Well … she can surprise you sometimes." Lapis said softly and looked to Jasper who reached the peak of the mountain up ahead.

"We're here!" Jasper said, walking onward and letting the others come to the top as well.

Resting at the top of the snowy mountain was a large temple with a statue of Rose in front of it! Covered in magical symbols and intertwining with the plant life around it, the structure bathed in the rays of the sun, reflecting it all around and giving it a radiant glow. Jasper conjured up a magic circle and waved it in front of her, exposing an invisible barrier that was around the premises.

"Alright, we finally found one." Jasper grinned and dismissed the light disc when she saw Lion seated at the Temple entrance. "You! What're you doing here?"

* * *

TYING MC Bear Bear on the outside of his bag, Steven headed out of the Maheswaran's house in the early morning and found the Crystal Gems outside. "I feel bad leaving Connie behind like that." Amethyst said.

"Well, we can't bring her along on a mission like this; she still has a life to live and who knows how long it'd take for us to accomplish it." Pearl said, noticing Steven arrive. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." Steven nodded and walked up to the RV.

"You've said 'goodbye' to Connie?" Amethyst asked.

"She wasn't up yet, so I just let her sleep." Steven opened the vehicle's passenger door, jerking back as he saw her inside. "Connie?"

"Hey, Steven!" She grinned.

"W-what're you doing here? I thought you were still asleep."

"Well, I decided to get up early." Connie said. "My parents changed their minds last night and said I could come along and I was too excited to wait around."

"Connie…" Pearl frowned.

"It's the truth, I swear." Connie.

Amethyst scowled at her along with Pearl then shrugged. "Well, sounds good to me!"

"But, what about -," Pearl tried to say.

"So, where're we goin', chief?" Amethyst said.

"What? S-since when was I the leader?" Pearl stammered.

"Since you're the one with the biggest stick up her ass."

"Wha- how dare you!" Pearl blushed.

"She is right." Sapphire shrugged.

"I -," Pearl growled and summoned a holographic map from her forehead gem. "Well, if we're going to look for a warp pad that's functional, we'll need to first check all the pads we had recorded in the Temple's logs."

"So, where to then?" Ruby said.

"Hmm, the closest one here is in a land called …" Pearl read the map. "Ooo."

* * *

ROYCE BREATHED heavily as he looked at the street around him, watching as cars went ablaze and people around looked at him in fear. He didn't know what happened, suddenly surrounded by chaos and their fearful gazes. He looked at his hands, wondering what'd occurred when they burst out in white energy!

"What the …?" He began to panic.

A familiar scream drew his attention as Betty came falling from the sky and crashed on a nearby car, pushing herself up from it, more confused than hurt. Royce stared at her as she got up and Mel teleported beside her, making him jerk back. "Betty, I told you to calm down!" Mel yelled.

"What's happening!?" Royce yelled.

"I don't know!" Mel turned to him. "Betty and I were just watching a movie when she suddenly started floating and wrecking everything!" She blinked, looking around. "Wait, how'd I get here?"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Jim yelled from nearby, walking up to them. "What the fuck is this shit!"

"What, you too?" Royce raised his brow.

"I was doing some target practice when the freaking gun ended up inside my arm!" Jim rubbed his right arm frantically.

"What?" Mel squinted.

"Exactly! What the fuck is this -," Jim tried to speak when a black substance materialized around his arm and transformed into a cannon, firing an energy ball into the air!

The kids looked out in shock when the blast suddenly dissipated, leaving them awestruck as a figure descended from the sky soon after. Landing on the ground and assessing the situation, Daisy walked towards the kids and looked at them closely, seeing the terror and confusion in their eyes. "I know you don't understand what's going on, but you need to calm down." She said slowly.

"And who're you?" Royce asked.

"I'm with SHIELD, I can help you."

* * *

**A/N**

**And that's it, the last chapter of the book! There's a lot more story I want to cover so keep an eye out for the next chapter which continues the story in the next arc titled 'Gaia'. We've been doing designs for the characters in this book over on Deviantart and Tumblr and we'll be doing more for our upcoming books!**

**How do you like the story so far? What do you think about Bill Cipher and White Diamond? Tell us anything in a comment. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Gaia Ch1 - Oval Town

**GAIA**

**Chapter 1: Oval Town**

JAKE HUMMED to himself as he flipped over a pancake on the stove in the RV's small kitchen, moving over and dishing it on a plate nearby. Groaning, Pearl walked past the dog and moved through the vehicle, bypassing Steven and Connie who watched a movie on a laptop and Amethyst who sat looking out the window opposite them, past Sapphire who read a book beside Ruby who was listening to music, and went up to Finn who was at the wheel while Wendy Corduroy dozed off in the passenger seat.

"Man, it's really getting cramped in here." Pearl said as she looked out the window. "Any idea how far we are from the island, Mertens?"

"I don't think we're that far away." Finn said, looking at the rear view mirror showing the ice trail that they were driving on. "I gotta say, you Crystal Gem dudes are pretty cool," He turned to Sapphire. "I've never seen or heard of anybody with this kind of ice power before."

"What about the Ice King?" Jake asked, sitting down and eating his seven staked pile of pancakes.

"We've never met him, so who knows." Finn shrugged.

"Well, I don't think my feats are that impressive." Sapphire said.

"I hope the warp pad here actually works." Steven crossed his arms.

"Yeah, all the ones we've found so far either didn't go to Home World or duds." Connie stated.

"Don't worry, I betcha this'll be the one you guys are after." Jake swallowed all the pancakes. "Hey, why won't ya tell us where you're going? Is it somewhere dangerous or something?"

"Yes, we don't want you to get hurt in the process." Sapphire shut her book.

"But we've been through a lotta tough battles before; I bet we could handle it." Jake flexed up, inflating his muscles.

"We already told you this before Jake; we're not taking you along." Pearl frowned.

"Fine." Jake sunk back in his seat.

"Hey, I see the island up ahead!" Finn called.

"Wait, we've arrived already?" Wendy opened her eyes lazily and looked out the window, a grin spreading on her face. "Sweet! Can finally get outta this damn RV." She got up and left her seat.

Moving past the auburn-haired girl, Pearl came up to the cockpit and looked out the window, seeing a large mountainous island coming into view. "Alright, let's prepare to dock and get this search started!"

"You got it, boss!" Finn saluted and stepped on it.

* * *

FINN DROVE the car wash RV off the large sheet of ice and came to a hard stop on the shore of the island - the frost behind them dissipating and melting into the ocean. Disembarking the vehicle, Pearl, Sapphire, Steven, Connie, Amethyst, Ruby, Wendy, Finn and Jake stepped onto the white sand and looked into the forest up ahead, seeing nothing through the thick wood. Finn drew out a Lacrima from his pocket and looked at a holo-projected map of Ooo, moving past Pearl who summoned a magical barrier around the van.

"Okay, the map says there should be a small town here, so maybe the locals might have a clue of what you're looking for." Finn told Pearl and Sapphire.

"Alright, we'll be on our way then." Sapphire said, looking at the map and taking a mental image of it.

"Guess this's where we part ways then." Jake creaked his neck. "Four days sleeping in a van sure does give a dog cramps."

"Thanks for helping us get this far; we'd be lost without you two." Sapphire said.

"Well, we won't be gone for too long." Finn put on his bag and walked on. "We'll be waiting back at the Candy Kingdom after you finish your business in space."

"And maybe I'll kick that purple bitch's ass in a beer drinking contest next time!" Wendy playfully sneered at Amethyst.

"Ha! You wish, Corduroy!" Amethyst cackled.

"Don't die on us, alright!" Jake waved.

"You too!" Pearl chuckled.

"Bye, Wendy, Finn and Jake!" Connie waved back happily.

"Yeah, see ya." Steven said, a little unenthusiastically, worrying Connie.

Seeing, Finn and Wendy hop onto Jake who turned into a wolf and disappeared into the forest, Sapphire, Pearl and the others went off on their own path. "Man, I wonder why I haven't been turning into any weird stuff lately." Amethyst crossed her arms. "Can't believe a dog of all things is better at shape-shifting than me."

"Well, shape-shifting is only useful for certain situations in combat; it's not a toy for you to play with." Pearl lectured.

"Well, I should use it more." Amethyst tried to think, growing a long tail out of her lower back. "Hmm, that should do for now." She looked at the appendage and wriggled it a little. "Bet a guy in town's into a little freaky shit - maybe he'll spank me like the last guy." She purred with a deep blush.

"Amethyst, there are children present!" Pearl glared at her.

"Yeah, and they already know I fuck guys a lot." Amethyst shrugged. "Your point?"

" And we are teenagers not children, thank you!" Connie interjected.

Pearl growled and walked up to Sapphire and Ruby who were a few paces ahead. "That woman's infuriating!"

"You understand the reason I stand out of earshot now, don't you." Sapphire said plainly.

"It's weird you haven't gotten used to Amethyst's behavior yet." Ruby pocketed her hands.

"Well, I'm not a sexual deviant, alright?" Pearl huffed and turned to Sapphire. "How far are we now?"

"Just a few more meters." Sapphire said.

Behind the three, Connie walked beside Steven and took in the beautiful plants and trees around them, turning to the boy beside her and seeing him set his eyes to the ground. "You okay, Steven?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You've been a little quiet lately; didn't even come fishing with me, Jake and Amethyst on the roof yesterday." Connie pried on.

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all." Steven insisted, not convincing her.

Pushing large leaves aside, Sapphire looked out into an opening before her and turned the others. "We're here!"

Rushing up to the Crystal Gems, Connie looked out into the valley and smiled. "Whoa!"

Resting at the foot of a mountain was a small town which stood around a massive yellow oval made of pure energy and was encircled by a large river which went around the mountain range and into the forest that continued behind it. Excited, the girl slid down the small slope and rushed toward the town, followed by Steven who moved at a much slower pace.

"Hey, don't just rush in like that; we don't know if this place is haunted or something." Pearl called out, getting ignored by the two. "For Christ's sake."

"Heh, thought you didn't believe in God." Amethyst hopped and went down the slope on her back.

"He is intriguing, but that's not what I was referring to." Pearl answered, realizing Sapphire and Ruby had also left "Hey, wait for me!"

Connie ran into the town and took in the environment, enthralled by the wood and stone houses that lined the cobblestone street. The town felt small and homey despite how large it actually was, the buildings set close together with several small stands and shops at nearly every corner. She enjoyed the sight of the area, getting a somewhat Irish vibe from the red and brown-haired townspeople - who all seemed to have non-human skin tones like blue and paper white - and the green that seeped through every part of the town's design.

"Hello, young lady." An old man waved at her from a small store. "Are you're traveller?"

"Yeah." Connie turned to him. "It's a nice place you have here."

"Well, it's nice to have you here." The man smoked his pipe. "It's a rarity to see a regular looking person around here."

"Huh?"

"Connie, wait up!" Steven caught up with her. "Pearl's looking for ya."

"Oh, forget her, let's explore this place!" Connie grabbed his hand.

"But, what about the -," Steven yelped as she dragged him along.

A few feet behind them came Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby and Amethyst who'd just missed the two as they took a corner. "Where'd they run off to?" Pearl looked around.

"You could just call them telepathically." Sapphire suggested.

"I could, but I don't want to make a habit of using it and seeing what people are thinking." Pearl glowered at Amethyst who cackled evilly.

"Ha, try sharing a mind with this pervert!" Ruby nudged Sapphire. "Amethyst's a saint compared to her."

"Sapphire? No!" Amethyst gasped mockingly.

"Uh," Sapphire blushed, clearing her throat. "Let's go find the children." She walked off.

"Share with me your wisdom, O' great Sapphire!" Amethyst quickly followed her. "Bestow upon me thine degeneracy, Pervy Sage!"

"I told you not to tell anybody about that!" Sapphire berated Ruby.

"What? I didn't specify what you were thinking." Ruby held back a laugh, annoying her.

Pearl stayed a few feet behind, watching the three ahead of her. "It's always the quiet ones."

"Well, what have we here? A group of travelers?" A tall man with pure white skin walked up to them. "I'm Gen, the Town Leader, and this is Oval Town."

"Uh, thank you for having us." Pearl searched for words. "We're not staying long, we're just need some directions; we're trying to -,"

"Hey, what's that thing over there?" Amethyst pointed at the large energy oval in the distance.

"Oh, that is the Oval." Gen looked to the object. "It's been the lifeline of our town since its founding generations ago." He turned to the Gems. "It's a gift from the earth itself!"

"What do you mean?" Sapphire inquired.

"Let me show you." Gen walked on, the three women following him. "Before this town was created, our founding father discovered the Oval which he grew enamored by and decided to settle here with his family, soon joined by other families and clans over the generations." He gestured to the different shops lining the street. "The Oval provides us with the essence of earth itself, Gaia Energy, which has revolutionized the way we live! It's given us a connection to the earth that no one else has!"

Pearl looked around and witnessed what Gen was talking about: seeing a woman planting a seed in a pot and raising her hand above it, causing it to give a yellow glow and sprout into a seedling in seconds! At an art shop opposite her, a man stood before a large boulder and ran his hand along it, causing the rock to mold into the shape of a woman's face! "Interesting ..." Pearl said blankly.

"Isn't that just magic though?" Amethyst's brow arched.

"It's easy to confuse the two, but they're different." Gen explained. "While magic harnesses the energy of cosmos which can then turn on the user, Gaia Energy is naturally given to those who become one with the Earth. It is a gift to her children, something only we humans can use to its full potential."

"Wait, you're human?"

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded.

"The explosion that started the Great Mushroom war altered a lot about the people of Ooo, but we are human all the same." Gen smiled.

"Uh-huh …" Amethyst nodded. "Well, I'm bored." She shrank and turned into a bird, flying off. "Lemme see if there's anything fun for me to do around here."

"Amethyst, we're supposed to stick together!" Pearl yelled.

"We aren't on a fucking field trip, Pearl, get off my back!" Amethyst retorted.

"Maybe we should keep her on a leash, but then she'd probably like it too much." Sapphire said, gaining an exasperated groan from Pearl.

* * *

CONNIE WATCHED with wide-eyed glee as a woman standing before a small building rubbed her hands together and summoned a yellow ball of energy between her palms, molding it out into a tubular shape and twirling it before her. Weaving the tube in an intricate pattern, she let go of the energy and let it latch onto the doorway, hardening and and turning into an intertwined wooden branch! Leaves slowly grew out of the wood and soon after, birds descended and perched upon the stem!

"Wow!" Connie gleamed, turning to the woman. "How did you do that?"

"I've merely harnessed the energy of the Oval." Mira, the woman in question, said. "It's taken me a while, but I've learned how use Gaia Energy in many ways."

"And how do you do that?" Connie asked.

"Let me show you." Mira pushed aside a cloth that stood in place of a door to the building.

Connie nodded with a smile and headed inside when she noticed Steven was just standing alone on the sidewalk. "Steven? You're not coming?"

"Uh, no, I'm just gonna be out here a while." Steven replied.

Connie grew worried, but let things be, stepping into the building and seeing a group of people seated inside a living room turned into a makeshift lobby. Charts and diagrams showing the human body and different herbs were hung across the walls and she realized with a second look that the people in the room were either injured or visibly ill.

"I've been working as a local healer for some time now and I've found out how beneficial the energy is." Mira led Connie into the backroom. "I've found that most illness is due to an imbalance in the bodies' energy flow or the presence of a foreign substance and I've learned how to use Gaia Energy to return the body back to natural health."

"It can work that way?" Connie asked.

"It can; it works better than most herbs actually." Mira answered, sitting on a chair in the backroom and looking through her notes. "Although, it's becoming difficult for me to heal our people lately."

"What happened?" Connie sat behind her.

"There's a strange illness that first appeared in a hunter a few years back." Mira turned to her. "Ever since he returned, it's started to spread and I'm now seeing some animals displaying the same symptoms, and my methods aren't as effective anymore."

Connie looked into the lobby on her left and sifted her mind.

* * *

"UGH, I can't believe you and Ruby actually put up with this when you were Garnet, Sapphire." Pearl sighed in aggravation as she, Ruby, Sapphire and Gen walked down a street. "How did you not excommunicate Amethyst or something?"

"She's family, Pearl; we have to tolerate her." Sapphire shrugged.

"I know, but it's still incredibly annoying." Pearl growled. "How can she constantly think of herself and always detour from the mission!?"

Gen stood on the sidelines as the three women argued, his eyes set on Pearl as he went alongside them. He was entranced by her as he watched the beautiful woman walk beside him, gazing upon her sharp blue eyes that contrasted with her warm orange hair. Smiling slightly, he offered a suggestion. "Let me have somebody find your friends for you; it'd be much quicker."

"No, no, I wouldn't want to bother you with our problems." Pearl said nervously.

"It wouldn't be a bother at all actually." Gen shrugged. "We'd just tell them how they look and they'd do the work for us, and you and I could grab a drink."

"That sounds nice, but I don't want to trouble you." Pearl rejected again. "Uh, might I ask, how're you the town leader exactly? You seem a little young for the job."

"My dad died from a disease a few months ago and that's how yours truly got the job." Gen explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Pearl's expression fell.

"Nah, life happens." Gen pocketed his hands. "As leader, I've been changing things around here. The people have been a little too old school and have focused too much on the spiritual side of the Oval's power and I've opened their eyes to newer possibilities. My sister Mira's started using it for medicine and I'm looking into how we can use it for technology." He tapped a small rifle holstered on his belt. "I'm gonna do what my dad failed to."

"Well, I hope you succeed at least." Pearl shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry; I will." Gen smirked when a man called him nearby. "Gimmie a sec."

Sapphire watched the man walk off and turned to Pearl. "That man seems to like you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I noticed how he looked at you a little earlier." Sapphire continued. "I think he has a romantic interest in you."

"Aw, that's so cute!" Ruby cooed. "I say go for it."

"Pfft, that's absurd." Pearl brushed her off, looking at Gen and considering what she said.

"Hey, Pearl." Steven hollered from across the street.

"Steven!" Pearl rushed up to him. "Thank God, you had me worried!"

"Where's Connie?" Sapphire followed after Pearl.

"She's talking to some lady at a hospital - I don't know what about though." Steven explained.

"Well, go get her; we've have to keep moving." Pearl told the boy who went on.

"Now, where could Amethyst be?" Ruby pondered when she heard the woman laugh loudly from a bar nearby. "Shoulda guessed."

Stumbling out the front door of a bar across the street, Amethyst clumsily walked onto the sidewalk with a beer in hand, being helped up by a man who had trouble keeping her up straight. "You really can't hold your liquor, can you?" He pulled her up by her side.

"Yup, and I don't give a fuck!" She slurred and took a huge sip when the bottle suddenly floated out her hand. "Hey …"

"You've had enough, Amethyst." Pearl drew the Scotch toward her and tossed it into a bin. "C'mon, it's time to go."

"Oh, fine, fine." Amethyst groaned, turning to the man holding her. "Thanks, Jeff; maybe I'll sim ya later or somn'."

Dragging herself across the street, the purple woman stood before Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire, before falling over and barely catching herself by a street light. "You really need to pull yourself together, Amethyst; this's unbecoming." Sapphire pointed out.

"Ah, whadda you know, huh?" Amethyst looked at her lazily. "You've never tasted booze this good before, so don't tell me shit." She laughed before throwing up into a bin, making Sapphire roll her eye.

"Hey, hope ya didn't miss me..." Gen returned, trailing off as he saw Amethyst vomiting. "She okay?"

"I'm sorry, but we need to keep moving." Pearl walked up to him. "Have you by any chance seen a warp pad around here? It's a large platform set on the ground that's used for space travel."

Gen tried to think. "I might've seen something like that before."

"Could you show it to us?"

* * *

GEN LOOKED back to Oval town as he came to a rise in the forest, moving past some plants and leading Pearl, Sapphire, Steven, Connie, Ruby and Amethyst further into the wood. Climbing over a downed tree, Gen came up to a silver warp pad that sat at the foot of a massive tree, bringing a smile upon Pearl's face as she and the others saw it.

"There it is!" Pearl went up to the platform.

"That'd be the third one in Ooo!" Amethyst said excitedly.

"And hopefully the one we're looking for." Pearl stepped onto the pad and shined her gem crystal upon it, causing symbols and patterns on the machine to come alight! Raising her hand, she activated the transporter's holographic control panel, scrolling through its coordinates. Alas, a frown came upon her face. "Home World's not listed here."

"Aw, what!?" Amethyst complained.

"I guess we have to find another one." Pearl shut down the device and got off it.

"Why would Home World build warp pads that only go one way?" Connie asked.

"Home World has armies posted on several planets, so some led to them and not to our Home World in the Milky Way Galaxy." Pearl explained.

"Can't you just put in these coordinates in that machine?" Gen suggested.

"We don't know them ourselves; very few gems outside of Commander rank have the exact coordinates." Pearl sighed in defeat. "Thank you for your help, but, we'll have to get going."

"Happy to help at least." Gen shrugged and walked on when a monstrous roar echoed in the distance.

"What's that?" Steven asked.

"It came from the town!" Gen realized in horror .

* * *

PANIC RAN rampant in the streets, the people fleeing and buildings burning and collapsing, the peace and quiet turned on its head! Gen and the Crystal Gems rushed into the town outskirts and found the source of the disturbance, horrified as deformed feral monsters lay waste to everything! Large, misshapen and spiky, some with scaly skin and others covered in fur, the creatures attacked anything that moved - taking the forms of bears, boars and jaguars and running amok!

"I have to stop this!" Gen drew out his rifle and rushed in without a second thought.

"Alright, we need to handle this carefully," Pearl began, "I want Amethyst and Ruby to -,"

Screaming with rage, Steven leapt high into the air toward a deformed bear that attacked a store, flying past Gen and landing with a powerful blow that sent tremors through the earth, causing the others to nearly fall off their feet! He fought like a mad man, bashing the creature's face in punch after punch and bloodying his fists, and he grabbed it by the jaw, lifting the nearly two ton behemoth and casting it into the air with one arm, sending hurtling into the forest!

Pearl stood frozen with her mouth ajar, shocked as the others were at Steven who rushed at the other monsters in blind rage. Before she could speak, a boar came at her from her left, biting into her side and ripping her in half, throwing her mangled body on the ground and spraying her blood about!

"Pearl!" Amethyst cried.

The boar looked on at its handiwork and turned to the other Gems, ready to attack when it felt something on its back. "Good thing I'm not naive enough to drop my guard like that." Pearl said as she strolled along the monster's back with a katana in hand, jumping off it. "Now sleep." The beast turned to her, confused, when a massive gash spread across its side and spilled its entrails out, killing it instantly and dropping it to the ground!

"Shit, you almost had me there for a second!" Amethyst laughed. "Thought I was gonna have to be leader next; that'd be horrifying."

"Well, good thing my clones are more convincing this time." Pearl smirked.

"Alright, Gems, let's move out!" Sapphire ordered, flying into the town.

Gen rushed into a street where three jaguars chased people down, aiming his rifle and shooting down one that pounced on a woman. The animal, though wounded, turned its attention to him like it was nothing and dashed at him, forcing him to roll out of the way at the last second. Taking the chance, Gen shot the monster in the back of the head, killing it instantly, unaware of another beast that leapt at him from behind!

Rushing into the scene, Connie blocked the jaguar's attack, locking Rose's sword with its sharp teeth and she slit its jaw, jumping back and making distance between her and it. The beast retaliated and charged at her wildly, the girl sheathing the blade and drawing out a bow and arrow, firing an explosive projectile into its eye and blowing its head to bits! She put her weapon away when Gen shot a monster behind her over her shoulder, downing the creature.

"Good shot." She chuckled.

In another part of the town, Sapphire flew over beasts that destroyed buildings, shooting them down with blasts of ice and coming down with a frosted blade, stabbing a giant bear in the head and slashing its brains open. Ruby came in alongside her and blasted fire at a large bear nearby, stunned as the monster shrugged off the attack and lunged at her suddenly! Failing to react in time, she blocked the carnivore with her arm, getting her skin clawed into by the beast!

Bleeding out, Ruby pushed against the monster and it tugged at her flesh, drawing out an agonized scream as it mutilated her arm. Hearing this, Sapphire reacted quickly and fired a ball of ice at the monster, freezing over its entire body! Shaken, Ruby fell to her knees and looked at the massive wounds on her arms, regenerating them as fast as she could.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Sapphire came to her side.

"Y-yeah," Ruby clenched her fists as she healed. "I - my fire didn't work on that thing."

"If you don't pour enough magical energy into it, then it's just regular fire, Ruby." Sapphire flew off. "You should be more careful next time." Ruby watched her leave and gritted her teeth in anger, rising up and looking for another creature.

Running across a rooftop on another street, Amethyst jumped down toward a boar, lassoing its neck with her whip and slamming it to the ground. Smashing her foot against its skull, she wrung the noose around it and snapped the beasts' neck, unwinding the rope as it stopped moving. Connie entered the street behind her and saw two more downed monsters, relaxing as it seemed the battle was over when the earth shook again, drawing her attention to her left where Steven drove a monster into the ground!

Digging into the cobblestone, Steven pummeled the bear relentlessly, smashing its bone and not realizing that it was nothing more than a carcass. Connie saw this and ran up to him. "Steven, stop!" She called out, horrified as he turned to her with a murderous glare in his eyes, his arms and chest covered in blood. "What happened to you…?"

Steven calmed down from his rage and looked at his hands, huffing and rising to his feet, steam bursting from his body as he vaporized the blood off of him. Connie frowned in worry as Steven merely looked away from her, seeing Pearl enter the street behind her. "Is that all of them?" The pale woman asked.

"Yeah, it should be." Amethyst twirled her whip and let go of it, causing it to disappear.

"Okay, then let's find Sapphire and Ruby and -," Pearl tried to say when a shrill scream interrupted her. "What in the….?"

She turned to the source of the cries and out of the forest came Peridot who was crying frantically, soon being chased after by a massive bear monster that snapped the trees like nothing. The green girl ran from the creature helplessly, prompting Pearl to draw out her sword when something suddenly crashed into the beast, halting it instantly. Looking through the resultant cloud of dust, Pearl realized that was in fact someone who had stopped the creature, enraged as she recognized her.

"You really need to learn how to fight, Peridot." Jasper chuckled as she stepped off the bear's crushed head. "It's a cute thing, I'll admit."

"Peridot, are you okay?" Lapis Lazuli called out as she entered the town.

"Lapis!" Tears flowed freely down Peridot's face and she ran up to her, embracing her tightly. "It almost killed me!"

"I know, I know." Lapis patted her head. "You should stick to the group next time."

Pearl watched the three cautiously; looking for an opportunity to strike when she saw Lion arrive alongside Helio Quartz! "Lion?"

"What're you doing here?" Sapphire descended from the skies, shooting a glare at Jasper who finally noticed them.

"Well, well." Jasper sneered.

* * *

**A/N**

**And we're back! It took us a while, but we finally have the second part of this story figured and planned out! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and will keep following as we continue the Crystal Gems' journey!**

**Be sure to leave us a comment, it really helps us know what you like or dislike about the story, and check out our Deviantart or Tumblr for character designs** ** of our previous books** **. Thanks for reading.**


	11. Gaia Ch2 - The Offer

**GAIA**

**Chapter 2: The Offer**

SAPPHIRE STUDIED Jasper, Helio, Lapis, Peridot and Lion as they stood before her and the Crystal Gems on the town's outskirts, wondering what they were doing there in the first place. She tried to read their minds to find out, unable to as there was a psychic interference being put out by Jasper herself, one of the most powerful she had ever felt. Looking at the orange gem's snake like eyes, she felt a deep anger rage within her, holding herself back from reacting hastily for Lion's sake.

"What're you doing here?" The blue woman demanded.

"Tried reading my mind, huh? Heh, my old man taught me how to make the old noggin an impenetrable steel trap." Jasper smirked. "Even Pink Diamond couldn't get in." Sapphire frowned at this.

"What have you done with Lion?" Pearl drew out her katana. "I won't show mercy if you've hurt him."

"Whoa, relax; we didn't do anything to him." Peridot held up her hands. "He came to us actually."

"What?" Pearl's brow arched.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that." Amethyst crossed her arms.

"Lion's an old friend of mine and he told me to come find you," Jasper stepped forward, "Though I wasn't expecting to find you so soon, or so unceremoniously."

"What're you talking about?" Sapphire asked, her tone becoming less angry and more confused.

"Heh, guess she really did a number on you, didn't she?" Jasper looked to Lion then back to Sapphire, "Lion only speaks telepathically, but it's in such a low frequency that only high level telepaths can hear. I bet you could if you tried."

Sapphire considered what Jasper said, looking at Lion and scanning his body inside and out. Concluding that he had no injuries, she slowly descended and approached Jasper. "Wait, you can't trust her!" Ruby cried.

"I know what I'm doing." Sapphire walked up to Jasper, looking up to the tall woman. "Show me."

"Alright." Jasper held out her hand and her eyes glowed, looking into Sapphire's eye and connecting with her in the psychic realm. She brought her deeper into the plane, further out of the range of everyone else's thoughts, and entered a dark empty void. The metaphysical Sapphire felt an intense grief as she entered the realm, stunned as she saw a tear from Jasper as she stood with her.

"There he is." Jasper gestured to her left, pointing Sapphire to Lion who sat facing away from them.

Sapphire looked to the animal and finally heard the frequency he was emitting, what his voice actually sounded like. It was deep and heavy, but had a gentleness and warmth to it that she immediately grew fond of as she heard it. Despite his cheerful tone, a deep sorrow and loneliness seeped behind every word, one that was many years old and would not go away.

Returning to the physical realm, Sapphire looked to Lion who sat beside Lapis - she could finally hear him clearly! "Jasper's telling the truth." Sapphire turned to the others. "He wants us to work with them."

"Wait, who are these guys exactly?" Steven asked.

"They are commanders under White Diamond." Pearl began. "I don't recognize all of them, but she is Jasper; an old enemy of the Crystal Gems."

"I was trained and tortured by her for centuries before Rose saved me from them." Ruby growled. "She is a heartless monster who would turn on her own kind if it meant victory."

"Watch your tongue, you little brat!" Jasper yelled. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a traitor!"

"You killed my friends!" Ruby screamed in rage, an intense fire bursting out of her when Sapphire raised her arm, blocking her way. "Sapphire …?"

"Hear her out, Ruby." Sapphire said to her. "I know what she's done, I know it well, but Lion trusts her and I trust him." She turned to Jasper. "Let's hear what they have to say."

Ruby looked at Sapphire in disbelief then to Jasper and Lion and sighed heavily, putting out the flames around her. "Alright."

"Fluffball here says you guys can help me in my quest to destroy Home World," Jasper put a hand on her hip. "I didn't agree with him at first, but I thought I'd give his idea a shot."

"Wait, you want to destroy Home World?" Sapphire asked.

"What? I didn't stutter, did I?" Jasper turned to Lapis.

"Well, they're kinda not expecting someone who's been with Home World since the Gem War to suddenly turn on them at the drop of a hat." Lapis chuckled. "They need to understand why you're doing it."

"I'm so fucking confused." Amethyst scratched her head.

"I would have fought with the Crystal Gems the moment I heard about you, but I couldn't because your plans were flawed." Jasper said. "Your efforts were in vain and you would have never succeeded."

"You're lying!" Ruby screamed again. "If you cared about our cause, you would have helped us, but you killed us instead! You've always been Home World scum!"

"Do you even know what I had to go through?" Jasper walked up to her. "I had to kill my own friends when they joined the Crystal Gems just to keep the Diamonds off my back! If they found out what I was planning, many more lives would have been lost!"

"So, your friends' lives didn't matter to you?" Ruby responded. "You couldn't just explain it to them."

"You don't know what it's like to have a Diamond constantly watching your back; watching every move you make." Jasper said. "Having to fabricate false thoughts so they wouldn't read your mind!" She began to breathe heavily, slowly composing herself. "I've sacrificed so much; I have planned for many, many years for this. I have gathered armies, weapons and I have studied Home World's structure inside and out and I know how to bring it to its knees." She sighed. "Will you help me or not?"

Sapphire tried to think, glancing at Lion and Ruby, and she sighed. "No, no we won't."

"Same here." Pearl stepped forward. "You may want to put down Home World as well, but we can't trust you. If Lion wants to go with you, then it's his decision to make, but we're not going to work with you."

Jasper looked at Pearl and the other Crystal Gems, huffing, as they seemed to all agree. "I knew this was a waste of time." She began to leave.

"I'll work with you." Steven said, halting Jasper.

"What?!" Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire turned to Steven.

"Steven, what're you talking about? These guys destroyed Beach City!" Connie cried.

"If somebody knows how to fight a Diamond, it's someone who's worked with one." Steven walked up to Jasper. "I want you to train me so I can get stronger; I don't want to lose again."

"Hmm." Jasper scrutinized him.

"Steven, you can't be serious." Pearl quickly pulled the boy towards her. "We can train you; we've always been training you - we can just find out new, better techniques."

"Yeah, we can even find somebody in Ooo who knows how to fight." Amethyst added. "Maybe we can even ask that Billy guy Finn always talks about."

"Billy's dead and we weren't prepared at all when Home World attacked Beach City." Steven frowned. "I was helpless when White Diamond attacked and if there're more as strong as she is, we're toast."

"Actually, Blue's the strongest Diamond, so you'd be pretty screwed if you couldn't lay a finger on White." Peridot noted.

Steven looked at Peridot then to the others. "We need all the help we can get; we're not strong enough to face Home World on our own." He turned to Jasper. "Train me."

Jasper scrutinized the boy, seeing the fury and determination in his eyes. "Alright, I'll train you."

Pearl and the other gems froze upon hearing this, Connie reaching forward and grabbing Steven's hand. "Steven, can I talk to you for a second?"

Steven turned to Connie, not answering, and stepped away from the others. "Steven, you can't be serious." She chastised in a hushed tone.

"I am serious; this's the best chance I have." Steven insisted.

"But how can you trust her? She's from Home World."

"I don't know if I can, but I need to take this chance." Steven said, seeing Connie's worry. "Look, I know this's crazy and I know what Home World's capable of, but that's exactly why I have to do this." He looked at his hands and sighed. "I'm not strong enough, none of us are. People died because we couldn't protect them and I'm not gonna let that happen again."

Connie tried to speak, but cut herself off, sighing reluctantly. "Just be safe, okay?"

Steven nodded and returned to the others, walking toward Jasper. "I don't know how long this'll take, but I won't come back until I'm stronger."

"But, Steven -," Amethyst tried to speak, but Pearl held her arm out, stopping her.

"Just be careful, Steven." Pearl said reluctantly. "And contact us when you've finished so we can come get you."

"Relax, I won't hurt him." Jasper smirked, getting a scowl from Pearl. "Alright, let's go."

"I'll stay with the Crystal Gems until you're done." Lapis said, walking up to Pearl. "Children irritate me."

Jasper looked at her curiously then shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Jasper, Helio and Steven headed towards the forest, leaving the others behind as Lapis joined the Crystal Gems – Peridot quickly following behind her. Lapis shot a glare at Sapphire, this going unseen by the others, and Pearl watched Steven as he went, questioning her decision to let him leave. Raising her hand, the pale woman summoned a small magic circle that attached to the boy's back, disappearing shortly after as he entered the woods.

"Don't worry about us getting in your way." Lapis crossed her arms. "We'll follow your orders while we're here."

"Yup." Peridot beamed.

Sapphire shook her head. "Fine." She turned to the others. "We should return to the town and see if everyone's alright." She flew off.

Returning to town, Pearl and the others entered a street where several men were looking closely at the downed beasts that they had managed to pull to the center of town – Pearl moving up to Gen and Mira who were studying a boar carcass. "Is everyone okay?"

"Fortunately there've only been a few injured – no casualties." Gen said, stroking his chin.

"It's quite odd though." Mira said as she ran her hands on the side of the beast. "I'm sensing large amounts of Gaia Energy from the creatures; it's what gave them their power."

"Yes, I'd been sensing that too, but I wasn't sure." Pearl frowned.

"But, how's that possible? I thought Gaia Energy was peaceful and therapeutic." Connie questioned.

"There's no such thing as good or bad energy." Mira said. "It's what it's used for or what form it's shaped into that defines its alignment. But I've never seen anything like this before."

"So, you're saying someone used the Energy to corrupt these animals." Sapphire landed beside her.

"I can't say for certain, but it's a strong possibility." Mira stood up. "I'll have to study these beasts more to be sure."

"Then I'll have the men bring one of these to your workshop." Gen said, calling over a man who was nearby.

Pearl looked around at the buildings damaged by the attack, sifting her mind. "We'll need to make sure the town's safe before we continue looking for a warp pad back to Home World." She turned to the others. "Let's find out where these animals came from and put them down before they attack again."

"Right." Sapphire nodded.

"Sapphire, Lion, Lapis and Peridot, you'll come with me." Pearl ordered. "Connie, Amethyst and Ruby, you stay here and help the townspeople anyway you can."

"I'll be coming to." Gen said, holstering his rifle. "I know these woods better than anyone."

Pearl turned to him, hesitating. "Okay, let's go."

Ruby watched as Pearl, Gen, Lion, Sapphire, Lapis and Peridot went on into the forest, turning to Amethyst and heading out with her into another street, leaving Connie behind. Connie watched from a distance as Mira went around with a group of women and healed injured people miraculously that were carried in from around the town. Enamored, she went up to the woman who waved her hand over a gash on an old lady's leg, spreading energy over it that caused it to slowly close up on its own.

"I've been around enough and I've seen your work first hand, so I've made up my mind." Connie said, grabbing Mira's attention. "I want to learn how to use Gaia Energy."

* * *

ELSEWHERE IN town, Amethyst and Ruby entered a street were people were trying to clear away the rubble from an attack. Walking up to a group of men, Amethyst cracked her whip and drew their attention. "Hey there, need some help?"

"Uh …" A man said in confusion.

Chuckling, Amethyst lassoed a fallen wooden beam and yanked it toward her, lifting it with one arm. "C'mon, we don't wanna just stand around doing nothing." She walked on. "Let's keep working."

"Okay," He said, stunned by her strength.

Watching Amethyst leave, Ruby moved up to a large boulder and tried to pick it up when a large foot stepped on it. "Ya sure you can handle it, Ruby?" A familiar voice said.

Ruby looked up and froze in shock. "Bismuth?"

"What? Ya daydreamin' again?" The giant woman chuckled. "Listen, you probably wanna handle somethin' easier; large scale repairs are a little above you. Let another ruby handle it."

"I can handle this!" Ruby growled.

"Uh, Ruby?" Amethyst called, making Ruby turn to her. "Who're you talking to?"

Ruby squinted and turned to the large boulder, seeing that no one was there. Realizing that it was only a memory, she glanced around uncomfortably. "Uh, it's nothing I was, uh …" She sifted her mind. "I'll get to work."

Grabbing a hold of the boulder, Ruby went down the street toward a pile of rubble the people were collecting. She looked blankly onward as she walked, her mind filling with voices as she struggled to fight off the doubts in her mind. As she continued walking however, she began to wonder why the rock started to feel lighter.

"Ruby!" Amethyst cried out.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked, realizing that she was about to drop the boulder on three men! "Whoa!" She quickly held the rock, mere inches from crushing them!

"What're you doing?" Amethyst rushed towards her and took the boulder. "You could've killed them!"

Ruby looked at Amethyst, seeing how she carried the rock deftly in one hand while she had to struggle to do it. Looking around, the red woman saw the commotion she had caused as people started to stare at her. "I … I'm sorry, I'll be careful next time."

"Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down for a bit."

"No!" Ruby yelled, noticing her outburst. "… No, I'm fine." She sifted her mind. "I'll get back to work." She walked off, leaving Amethyst confused.

* * *

JASPER POCKETED her hands as she looked at the twilight sky, enjoying the stars and remembering the time she spent in the plains of Dragonbloom. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Steven pull himself up onto the mountain side and Helio who drew out a small disc from his gauntlet and chucked it forward, letting it levitate and fly off.

"I'll be studying the area for a while." The black gem said, drawing out a small pen-shaped device from his pocket and tossing to Jasper. "You can set up camp without me."

"Sure." Jasper received the device, seeing him fly off.

Jasper pocketed the pen and looked at the mountains around them. "I've been looking to work the Crystal Gems for some time now, but I've never had any opportunities to see if they were willing or not." She clicked on some buttons on her gauntlet. "I'd fought Sapphire when Home World invaded your home a few months ago and she intrigued me."

"What do you mean?" Steven sat on a rock nearby.

"She let me defeat her." Jasper crossed her arms. "I could sense an immense energy from her that she was desperately trying to suppress during our battle; she'd rather die than use it against me."

"Oh …"

"My point is that I value strength in those I work with." Jasper pressed a button on her gauntlet, summoning a force field that spread around the two and covered several square meters around them. "And I test their strength in battle."

Steven looked at the force field and became nervous. "What's this?"

"This is a device Helio developed as we'd travelled these lands for the past few months." Jasper began. "Within this field, time is stretched out so we can perform tasks at record speed. One Terran day outside is two months in here, so we can train virtually forever." She removed her cloak. "If I'm going to train you, I'll need to assess your strength first."

"Oh, okay." Steven got up. "What do you want me to do? Lift a boulder, levitate, or …?"

"I want you to fight me."

"What?"

"Show me how strong you are, human!" Jasper grinned as an aura of intense energy burst out of her.

Steven gulped in fear. "Uh …"

* * *

MOONLIGHT GLIMMERED through the trees and lit up their path as Pearl, Gen, Sapphire, Lion, Lapis and Peridot travelled through the wood. The area felt much different from the landscape of Oval Town even though they were only a couple kilometers away from it. There was a great amount of colorfulness in the plant life around them and the animals seemed more active than they were in the day, much to Peridot's intrigue.

"So, where did you find Jasper before coming to us, Lion?" Pearl turned to the animal, getting no response, then looked to Sapphire. "Could you translate?"

"He's not saying anything." Sapphire said. "I guess Lion's just a silent gem in general."

"Hey, how come we didn't see any of these creatures elsewhere?" Peridot strayed off from the others, reaching out to a small bird with six wings that perched on a tree.

"Don't wonder off, Peridot." Lapis held the green girl's hand.

"What? I'm not going to get lost again." Peridot insisted, getting a disbelieving look from Lapis. "I'm not."

"That's what you said before that bear almost got you earlier." Lapis let go of her hand. "We don't know what kind of animals Terra has, so you should be careful."

"Ugh, fine." Peridot pouted. "I just wanted to find out if they were like the birds on Home World since they looked so similar."

Pearl, becoming unnerved upon hearing this, stepped ahead of the group and looked into different light spectrums, looking for traces of the corrupted animals that had attacked the town. She looked at the ground; the plants and the sky above, searching for footprints, claw marks or anything at all that could lead to their whereabouts. As she did so however, her pupils slowly began to turn red though she failed to notice.

"I think we may need to employ different methods in order to find these creatures." Gen went up to a tree and ran his hand along the bark. "If they were indeed corrupted by Gaia Energy then they should be emitting it wherever they go."

"Good thinking." Peridot smiled and summoned four light clones that dispersed into the woods.

Releasing a blue glow from her eyes, Pearl looked at the energy fields in the area, seeing many energy waves that mixed in with each other. Separating those of herself and the gems from the others, she started to search for concentrated traces of Gaia Energy, finding that troublesome as the trees themselves produced small traces of it. She shut her eyes as the sight became overwhelming, trying to focus on any that felt out of place, anything that disrupted the natural flow in the area. She found it.

"Alright, I think I've found something." Pearl opened her eyes and turned around, finding no one behind her! "Guys?"

* * *

"LAPIS?" PERIDOT cried as she walked through a foggy path in the forest. "Lapis, where are you?"

"Peridot!" Lapis called out as she walked through a patch of leaves.

"What happened? Where're the others?" Peridot walked up to her.

"I don't know, I just blinked and the next thing I knew I was in a river." Lapis said, waving her hand and getting the water off her clothes.

"Oh, there you two are." Sapphire said blankly as she descended from the skies, followed below by Lion. "It seems we got separated by some strange magic."

"Yeah, seems about right." Lapis crossed her arms.

"So, what now?" Peridot asked.

"We need to find Pearl and Gen and get out of here before anything else goes wrong." Sapphire said.

"Yeah, that's gonna have to wait." Lapis frowned and looked into the shadows to her right. "We've got company."

Several eyes shone through the darkness in the wood around the four gems, followed by growls and shuffling in the bushes. Peridot held Lapis' arm as the noises loudened and the trees started to shake and fall over, making Lapis, Sapphire and Lion become tense. Bursting through the trees like twigs, a gigantic one-eyed wolf leapt out and landed before the four, circling them and eyeing its prey.

"It seems we were on the right path." Sapphire summoned ice around her.

"Yeah, no shit." Lapis frowned.

Howling at the sky, the wolf called more monsters that revealed themselves from the woods around them, surrounding the four gems, and charging at them full speed!

* * *

CLIMBING OVER a fallen tree, Pearl entered a burned area of the woods she had not seen mere seconds before, confused as the area she had just come from had also changed. The trees around her were nothing like they were before she lost track of the others, none of them pointing upward, but rather intertwining and shifting back into the ground like overgrown roots. She looked at the smoke rising from the earth before her and picked the smoking ash, confused, as it seemed to have burned decades ago, but felt fresh at the same time.

"What is this …?" She asked herself when a voice caught her attention

"Pearl!" Gen's voice came, drawing Pearl's attention as she turned and saw him trying to rip himself away from a tree that was wrapping around him!

"Gen, hold on!" She ran up to him.

"Stay back! You don't want to attract the other trees here!" Gen cried and reached for his rifle, blasting a hole in the roots and causing it to drop him on the ground. Pushing himself up, he fired at the tree repeatedly, incinerating it to bits!

"What's going on? What happened to the others?" Pearl asked.

"They've been taken by the forest." Gen said curtly.

"What're you talking about?"

Gen hissed as he saw a gash on his arm. "There're portions of the forests that'll try to eat you alive if you're not careful; that's why I insisted on coming along because I know how to avoid them." He ripped a piece of his shirt and covered the wound. "But I guess the energy's become harder for me to trace now."

"Well, how do we find the others?" Pearl asked.

"We'll just need to follow them by their energy, but it might take a while." Gen sighed. "I'm sorry about this."

"No, it's fine, we'll find them soon enough." Pearl moved up to him and held out her hand. "May I?"

Gen hesitated and held his arm out to her, showing her the gash that was mere inches away from exposing the bone. Holding her hand over the cut, Pearl covered it with her energy and started to heal it, pressing against his skin as it slowly closed shut. She felt his warmth as she held him, looking at him and getting drawn into his deep green eyes as he looked into hers.

Gen became lost in the moment when he saw a large branch snaking up to Pearl from behind. "Pearl, behind you!"

Pearl reached for her katana to defend herself when a bolt of lightning gutted the branch instantly! The two froze in shock and turned to the direction where the electricity came from, seeing a dark-haired man garbed in black clothing approaching them. "You should be more careful when traversing these woods." The man said blankly. "Wouldn't consider this a place to get comfortable in."

"Uh," Pearl quickly let go of Gen. "Who are you?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha."


	12. Gaia Ch3 - Truths

**GAIA**

**Chapter 3: Truths**

PEARL AND Gen looked at the dark-haired man suspiciously, ready for anything yet careful not to do anything that'd result in unnecessary conflict. Pearl was still reeling from what'd just happened, seeing the ash of the branch in her peripheral from the man's lightning attack. What was he? Was he human or a Gem posing as a human?

"Who are you?" Pearl frowned.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing his red right eye and purple left eye. "You two seem to have fallen into the same trap I fell into about a week ago."

"You've been here for a week?" Gen asked.

"Unfortunately." Sasuke looked to a tree on his right. "This area seems to be a tear in space-time that's forced us between two points in time; the present and several years ago during the Great Mushroom War. There appears to be more of these distortions popping up worldwide."

"Did, did you lose your arm while you were here?" Pearl asked hesitantly.

"No." Sasuke huffed. "That happened long ago."

"Well, whatever this distortion is, I can get us out of here." Gen holstered his rifle. "I've been caught in these before and I know how to escape."

Sasuke tried to respond when he noticed Pearl's red eyes, bringing a frown to his face. "Where did you get those?"

"Get what?" Pearl's brow arched.

"Those eyes, the Sharingan, belong to members of the Uchiha Clan and they've been wiped out." Sasuke reached for his sword. "Either you're a Uchiha I don't know or you stole them from one and I highly doubt the former is possible."

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about?" Pearl glanced around in confusion. "These are the eyes I was born with; I didn't get them from anywhere and I don't know what a 'Uchiha' is." She squinted. "At least I think I was born – I might be a clone."

Sasuke drew his katana and Gen started to panic. "Whoa, whoa, we're not looking for any trouble?" Sasuke vanished, leaving Gen confused. "Oh man."

"Where'd he go?" Pearl looked around.

Gen and Pearl looked at the trees around them as the woods became dead silent – the Gem drawing her katana and the human his rifle. Readying themselves, they surveyed their surroundings and prepared for anything when a massive Shuriken came rolling at them from their right! Reacting quickly, the two jumped out of the way only for Pearl to meet the steel of Sasuke's blade as he slashed her in the face, knocking her to the ground!

Hissing in pain, Pearl watched as Sasuke ran towards her, quickly closing up her left eye that was cut in half and blocking his sword with hers. "You're more of a threat than I thought." Sasuke noted. "Now, who did you steal the Sharingan from?!"

"Could you start making sense already?!" Pearl became aggravated. "I don't know what these words mean and I didn't steal anybody's eyes!"

"There're several ways I can make you talk." Sasuke pushed against her, slowly overpowering her. "I'll find out the truth one way or another."

* * *

STEVEN TAPPED his fingers together awkwardly as Jasper stood before him blazing in green energy. "Uh, can we just start with something simple? I mean, I don't know how to fly yet, so maybe you could teach me that, heh." He backed up from her.

"I thought you wanted to get strong." Jasper closed the distance between them. "Are you a coward?"

"No, no, I just." Steven swallowed hard. "I just think that a n-novice like me shouldn't fight a veteran is all." He scratched his head. "What if I just did a few laps around the mountain? Yeah, lemme just do that." He turned around and received a swift punch in the face, sending him flying several meters back! Pushing himself up, he looked at who punched him and saw clone of Jasper cocking her wrist.

"The kid's got a pretty soft face." The doppelganger grinned. "Maybe I'll skin him and make him a bag."

"Well, I can't stop her from doing what she wants." Jasper raised her hands in defeat and the clone dashed at Steven.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Steven leapt out of the way as the clone swung wildly at him, hitting the ground instead. "You're fighting me two on one? How's that fair?"

"Battle is never a fair game." Jasper let down her aura and crossed her arms. "You can be faced with tens to hundreds on a battlefield if you're cornered and you have to be prepared for anything."

"But –," Steven tried to say when the clone kicked him hard in the gut, drawing blood and smashing him into the face of the mountain behind him!

"Did I say I wanted to chat with you?" Jasper raised her brow, watching the clone stalk towards the resultant dust cloud. "Hesitating and getting distracted will get you killed. Be thankful I'm not fighting you myself or that punch would've shattered you instantly."

"Well, it didn't feel soft either." Steven grunted as he pulled himself out of the rocks.

"What did she say about chatting, you little runt!" The clone planted her boot in his face, digging him into the boulders!

"Ya know, you're not impressing me, kid." Jasper paced around. "I thought you Crystal Gems were supposed to be a threat with all the headaches you've given the Diamonds, but you just seem weak. I mean, my clones fucking suck compared to those of that dainty flower Pearl and you can't even hold your own against mine? Fucking pathetic." She began to leave. "Kill the little shit."

"No problem." The clone cackled and went for the killing blow when Steven caught her fist with one hand! "What the?"

"I'm not gonna give up." Steven pushed the clone back. "I said I'm gonna get stronger and I meant it!" Screaming in rage, he flung the doppelganger off him, sending it crashing into the rocks up ahead.

Seeing the boy panting in a haggard state, Jasper turned around with a wide grin. "That's the spirit!"

* * *

AMETHYST GROANED as she pushed herself out of bed, her tossed up hair somewhat blocking her vision as she saw her clothes strewn on the floor. It was then that it hit her, rubbing her temple as a headache continued to sear as she remembered getting extremely drunk the previous night.

Dragging her naked body out of bed, she walked around the room and started to search the place, wondering where the man she had spent the night with was, if she knew who he was to begin with. She moved toward the door when she noticed that she was in a motel, huffing to herself as she realized she'd been ditched again. Shrugging in disinterest, she went to pick up her clothes and prepared to head out.

She grabbed her underwear and moved over to her suit when she saw a small locket up ahead, her expression falling as she looked at the picture inside. Picking it up, she ran her finger along the glass and cleared the image, her heart falling as her eyes came upon the person in the image. Taking her mind off it, she grabbed her suit and got dressed, heading out of the room.

* * *

CLOSING THE door behind her, Amethyst went down the street and tried to think of what to do next, realizing that she'd lost track of Ruby. Groaning in anger, she started searching quickly, not noticing Connie and Mira who were sitting by the massive Oval in the town square. The two sat in the lotus position alongside the energy ball, which many people were communing around, and Mira cleared her mind as she began.

"The Oval has been the lifeline of our town for many generations." Mira opened her eyes. "Gaia Energy's more than just a source of power; it is the essence of life itself." She held her hand out, drawing a bird to perch on her finger. "It is balance and connection to nature, and it is open for all humans to harness."

"But, how do you do it exactly?" Connie asked. "How do I heal people or the other things it can do?"

"No, you don't do anything; you simply open yourself up to the force so it can use you." Mira corrected. "It does its wonders through you; you merely direct it from one place to another."

"I'm confused, how do I not use it and use it at the same time?" Connie's brows crossed.

"It's difficult to explain in words honestly, but you understand it as you move on." Mira chuckled. "What's important is you understand that in order to harness Gaia Energy, you have to be one with your surroundings – to be one with nature. The energy is the life force of the planet itself, so connecting with it is the only way to harness Gaia Energy."

"And, how do I become one with nature?"

"You already have."

"What?"

"You've become one with nature by bonding with your sword." Mira pointed at Rose's sword on the ground. "That blade was made with Gaia Energy; whoever created it had an affinity for it far greater than mine."

Connie looked at the sword. "Whoa …"

"You've achieved a step to the process that takes most people decades to accomplish; all you need to do now is learn how to harness the energy itself." Mira placed her hand on the Oval. "Now place your hand on the Oval and focus on it alone; close your mind from everything else." Connie touched the ball and shut her eyes. "Now breathe and calm your thoughts; let the energy flow through you."

Connie took a deep breath and began to meditate, the sounds around her disappearing as she zoned in on the sensation in her hand, the tingling of the Oval's surface. As she did so however, Rose's sword began to emit a soft light and the blue flower on its hilt started to grow.

* * *

"OKAY, OKAY, I think I can get a better read on it if you just hold it still!" Peridot grinned as she held up a small scanner to a giant frog that Lapis pinned to a tree with a tube of water.

"Peridot, I thought I told you to stay back!" Lapis yelled.

"C'mon, I wanna add it to the archive of alien creatures!" Peridot whined. "Man, if only I had an Omnitrix, then I could do this in a fifth of a second!"

"How many times will I tell you that that's just a myth?" Lapis slashed the amphibian in half. "Azmuth was a mad scientist; that level of transformation's not possible without corrupting the DNA of the user itself or killing them from overuse."

"Well, you said Unicorns were a myth, so what about that, huh?" Peridot gave a smug smile.

"That was witchcraft!" Lapis scoffed. "How can you honestly misinterpret a witch's illusion as the real thing? I thought you were a girl of science."

"It felt real." Peridot pouted. "And besides, you can't discover anything new if you're not open-minded; so I believe the Omnitrix's is real and I'm gonna make one or find one." She yelped as Lion fired a sonic wave past her with a mighty roar, hitting a reptilian gorilla behind her and ripping it to shreds instantly!

"Your daydreaming's gonna get you killed." Lapis frowned.

"Well, that's why I have you to protect me." Peridot giggled.

The blue woman blushed, holding back a smile. "You know, that whole cute thing's gonna wear off one day."

"Yeah, and you said that fifteen years ago too." The green girl pointed out. "Face it, you love me." Lapis groaned, amusing the green girl more.

Sapphire monitored the two from afar, unable to hear what they were saying, but able to see what they were doing. They seemed friendly enough, but she could not get the feeling out of her mind that they were up to something nefarious. She also wondered why they seemed so familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before.

She lost herself in her thoughts, unable to see the giant white wolf as it pounced on her and pinned her on the ground! She cried out in pain as the monster dug its claws into her flesh, drawing blood and slowly reaching her heart! The monster growled as it went for the kill when Lapis sent four strips of water stabbing right through its side and Lion rammed into its midsection, flinging it many meters back!

"What the hell are you doing?" Lapis put a hand on her hip.

Sapphire pushed herself up, holding her chest as she slowly healed it. "What're you talking about?"

"That shouldn't have hurt you at all, so why did it?" Lapis walked up to her. "Why have you weakened yourself?"

"I don't understand." Sapphire frowned.

Lapis scoffed. "You really take us for a bunch of infants, huh? Fine, I'll put it this way: I know your secret." Sapphire remained silent. "You've been lying to everyone for a very long time, but the truth has to come out one way or another."

Sapphire glanced at Lion and hesitated. "I have nothing to hide; whatever it is you think I'm lying about, I'm not."

"You can't keep this game up, Sapphire; if that's even your real name." Lapis shook her head. "All those years looking down at us from above and now you're here playing it up for everyone; it's disappointing." Sapphire stayed quiet. "You can't keep it a secret anymore; Jasper, Peridot and I already know the truth and the Crystal Gems will know soon enough."

"You wouldn't dare." Sapphire growled.

"Oh, I don't plan to; you're going to admit it yourself."

"And why would I?"

"Because I don't think Jasper cares enough to keep a tight lip about it, and because," She gestured to Lion, "He's known all along."

Sapphire froze upon hearing it, staring at the animal in surprise. "How long?"

"Since you joined the Gems." Lapis explained. "You may've been able to cover your power from everyone else, but not him. It's over, Sapphire; you have to let them know the truth about who you are."

Sapphire looked to Lion and glanced around frantically, seeing the corrupted animals around them starting to stir. Her heart raced as her lies caught up with her, her mind clouded with fear as she thought about Steven and the others. Emotions welled up within her and she screamed out in rage, releasing and intense wave of ice that froze all the monsters around her and half of the valley!

Lapis moved her arm away as she shielded her eyes from the outburst, amazed as everything was under a blanket of snow and powerful winds swept the area! Standing before her was Sapphire who was bathed in pure white energy, her eye aglow and her skin slowly freezing over as frost snaked up her limbs. The clouds above parted from her intense release, allowing the moon to shine over the woman and give her an ominous glow.

"Whoa …" Sapphire exhaled in awe.

* * *

PEARL GASPED as she pushed herself up and coughed badly, looking around in a panic as she came to with a start. She squinted as there was nothing but blackness around her and she put her hand down, puzzled by a sticky feeling that spread between her fingers. Looking down, she saw what it was and jumped up in horror as a sea of black maggots covered everything beneath her!

"What is this?" She began to hyperventilate, desperately kicking away the worms as they climbed up her legs and burrowed into her flesh!

Looking around, she tried to find a way out when the maggots started to swirl and bulge a few feet ahead, drawing her attention to them. They stopped as soon as she turned to them and soon after burst out as a massive thirty-foot black snake emerged from the depths! Fear rendered Pearl immobile as the serpent slithered around, beginning to shiver as it stared her in the eye!

"Not snakes, not snakes." She tried to calm her breath. "It's not real, it's not real; it can't be real." The creature hissed at her, revealing its moist, long tongue made of smaller, shriveled up serpents. "Oh God …" She backed up.

She walked back from the creature as it slowly followed her, trying and failing to figure out a means of escape when she felt a squirming sensation in her legs. Looking down, she saw where the feeling came from as the maggots had gotten up to her knees and had dug their way into her! She felt lightheaded, overwhelmed with panic as the snake drew closer and closer to her.

Closing her hands as they trembled, the pale woman steeled herself and ignored the maggots devouring her skin, looking up at the monster before her and staring into its eyes. She remembered what Garnet had told her as she learned about spells and illusions, about how giving in to the emotion it wanted meant you were forever trapped in it. She simply had to focus, to put her fears aside. She could do it.

The maggots moved further and further up her body as she stayed in place and looked at the monster in the eye, letting it get closer as well. It came mere inches away from her face and she began to falter, her nerves getting the better of her as its tongue slithered out and reached out to her. She began to reach her breaking point, the overwhelming fear she suppressed beginning to bubble to the surface!

The snake began to open its mouth, ready to swallow her whole when Pearl intercepted it and placed a hand on its face, stopping it in place! A sudden boldness took over as she looked the devil in the eye, her own eyes becoming red once more as she began to understand. Another black comma appeared on the rings around each of her irises and she exhaled as she ran her fingers on the creature's scales.

"It's over …" Pearl smiled, closing her eyes and allowing the maggots to cover her and consume her whole!

* * *

ELSEWHERE IN the forest, Gen pushed his way through a bush and entered a small open area, rifle in hand, as he looked for Pearl. His mind searched for answers as he wondered where Pearl and the strange man had gone as they vanished right in front of him. Looking behind a large tree, he continued to look for her when a familiar voice called out.

"Gen? Gen, is that you?"

Gen frowned and turned around, seeing an old man with a walking stick approached him. "Dad?"

"My boy, I've been looking for you!" The man moved up to him.

"No, no, what're you doing here?" Gen backed up.

"What do you mean? I'm your father; I've been worried sick." The man frowned. "Your mother's must be waiting for us back home; we should go back."

"What're you talking about? You abandoned us for over a year!" Gen growled. "I've told everyone else that you died to maintain your honor, but you're a selfish bastard who ran away with another woman!"

The old man paused upon hearing this, his tone becoming lower. "I know I've made mistakes, but I'm here to make things right." He held out his hand. "Let's go home, son."

Gen looked at his father's hand, his expression warming up when he pulled his rifle on him. "Nice try, you son of a bitch." He shot the man in the head, turning him into dust! "My father never left us; he was an honest man."

"Impressive." Sasuke's voice echoed throughout the forest.

Gen looked around as the fog returned to the dark woods, turning around and seeing Sasuke standing a few feet away from Pearl who was on all fours on the ground gasping for air. "Your mind is more powerful than I expected." Sasuke said.

"I've seen dozens of illusions before and I use Gaia Energy to break through them." Gen said with a frown. "It'd take a lot to fool me."

Sasuke smirked. "I think I've seen enough." He sheathed his katana. "You've proven yourselves."

"Proven what exactly?" Gen asked, clutching his rifle tightly.

"That you can be trusted." Sasuke replied. "I apologize, but I had to be thorough; those who have stolen eyes from an Uchiha before have been incredibly dangerous people – I had to make sure."

"Well, you could have just asked instead of traumatizing me!" Pearl stood up. "Why did you use snakes!?"

"It was beneficial for you in the end." Sasuke said. "You seem to have overcome your greatest fear."

"As if! I'm even more afraid than I ever was!" Pearl rubbed her arms. "I need to take a shower."

"What is this Uchiha you keep mentioning?" Gen asked.

"Yes, and what're these 'Sharingan' also?" Pearl added.

"The Uchiha are the clan of people with the Sharingan – a special set of eyes that give them the ability to create powerful ocular illusions that can affect the physical body, allow the user to copy the powers of others outside of body transformation and other abilities." Sasuke said. "It is the clan I am from and I thought we were the only ones with them, I suppose there are others I wasn't aware of."

"So, you're saying that I have these eyes?" Pearl's brow arched.

"More than that; yours are close to fully awakening." Sasuke said, noting the two tomoe in her eyes.

Pearl sifted her mind, about to ask another question when Gen cut her off. "Whatever these abilities or powers are, we need to get out of this place fast before we're permanently trapped in here."

"I've been trapped in here for three months, so I'm not sure if there is a way out." Sasuke shrugged. "Though I suppose a much shorter time has passed outside."

"Well, if you listened to me earlier, I would've told you that I know how to get out of here." Gen sighed in exasperation. "I just need to sense the pathways of energy in here and map out a path back home, though I don't know how long that'd take."

"Then my apologies; do what you can." Sasuke said. "I'd like to go home soon – haven't eaten anything in a while."

Gen studied Sasuke then looked at Pearl, receiving a nod from her. "Alright, I'll be back." He holstered his gun and walked off.

Watching Gen leave, Pearl turned to Sasuke and thought for a bit, finally moving up to him. "Um, if I have these 'eyes', how would I use them exactly?"

"The eyes give the user the power to create illusions; what they are depends on them and what other powers they acquire is unique to each person." Sasuke said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I didn't actually know these eyes existed or that I had them until I met you today, so I want you to teach me." Pearl said. "Teach me everything you know about the Sharingan; if I have them, I want to know how to use them – they're powerful people I could use them on."

Sasuke stared at Pearl and sifted his mind. "Alright." He sighed. "Since we have time on our hands, I'll teach you everything you need to know."

* * *

"YOU'RE NOTHING special," "You're nothing to us!"

Ruby struck the side of the tree angrily, trying her best to ignore the voices in her head.

"You're just another ruby," "You're worthless!"

She punched the bark repeatedly, letting out her rage and ignoring the blood that ran down her bruised fists.

"You're weak!" "It'd make no difference even if you were dead!"

Ruby screamed in anger and smashed her fist into the tree; breaking it in half and making it fall over! She breathed heavily and looked at the forest around her, seeing the many trees she had downed as she spent many hours there alone. She tried to think when Amethyst's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Whoa, what happened here?"

"Leave me alone." Ruby caught her breath. "I'm just training."

"Yeah, I've never seen you train like this before." Amethyst chuckled. "Looks like you hate these trees for some reason."

"I said leave!" Ruby yelled.

"Okay …" Amethyst was taken aback. "If this's about me losing you earlier, I'm sorry; I got a little sidetracked."

"That was two days ago!" Ruby turned to her. "I looked for you all over the place and you most likely just fucked some random asshole like you always do!" She huffed. "Just go."

Amethyst tried to speak, but cut herself off, looking at her amulet. "… Listen, I shouldn't' have ditched you; there was no reason to." She walked up to her. "I've been selfish and I'm sorry." She looked at the smaller red woman who didn't respond. "Why don't we go back to town? Sapphire and Pearl could be back any day now."

Ruby glanced at Amethyst and huffed, walking passed her and heading into the town. Amethyst hesitantly followed her, sensing the woman's rage as she saw her blood dripping from her hands.

* * *

STEVEN WAS flung through the air and crashed on the ground, leaving a trail of dust and rock behind him that led up to Jasper's clone who cracked her knuckles. Looking at the dark night sky above, Jasper snapped her finger and dismissed the doppelganger, moving past Steven who pushed himself up and hissed as wounds littered his body.

"What, we stopped? I can keep going!" Steven said, grunting as he struggled to stand.

"You lost the fight, so we're done here." Jasper said as she typed on her gauntlet.

"Oh … so, what does that mean?" He asked hesitantly.

"You passed; we'll continue training in the morning." She said blankly.

"Really!" The boy grinned.

"Hey, hey, don't get excited; just because you survived doesn't mean I'm impressed." Jasper quickly said. "Your fighting was sloppy, so we have a lot of work to do."

"Alright!" Steven cheered, quickly healing his wounds.

Frowning, Jasper tossed a small metal ball at him. "Get some sleep, Steven; we'll begin training in the morning."

"Sure." Steven received the ball when he realized. "Wait, you just called me by my name!"

"No, I didn't." Jasper said.

"Yes, you did!" Steven smiled. "Ha, after a whole week, you finally called me by my name! You're finally warming up to me."

"Don't get familiar, you little brat!" Jasper growled. "Now go to bed before you fucking piss me off!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Steven said with a start and threw the ball on the ground, amazed as it transformed into a large round tent! "Ooh!"

Jasper watched as the boy looked at the tent in delight and climbed in to see what was inside. She smiled softly at this, her expression falling as she realized what her plans would mean for him. Shaking her head away from those thoughts, she went back to work.

* * *

**A/N**

**And there you have it, Chapter 3!**

**If you don't know Naruto lore, you don't have to really look up too much cuz we're only taking a small portion from the show and altering it slightly. For those who do like Naruto however, just know that we're not changing lore drastically; this book isn't going to dive too deeply into the show or use too many of its characters because we have planned to use that for another story.**

**So, how do you like Pearl having Sharingan? It's honestly a ludicrous idea that didn't need to happen at all, but I goofed around while drawing a design for her and thought it'd be a fun addition. Why not do something purely for fun in a fanfiction anyway, right?**

**Do you like how we portrayed Sasuke?**

**And overall, how do you like the story so far? Is there anything you hate? Let us know!**

**Check out our Deviantart or Tumblr for our character designs and follow so you don't miss future updates! Thanks for reading.**


	13. Gaia Ch4 - Imbalance

**GAIA**

**Chapter 4: Imbalance**

PEARL FROZE as the world opened up before her, her breath echoing in the realm as she walked through the forest. Everything around her shifted and reflected off each other as if shards of glass covered them. She opened her Sharingan, using her forehead gemstone like a third eye, and took a second look, seeing small particles of energy rising out of the plant life like binary code.

"Huh …"

"The human mind is fragile and its perception of reality is subjective." Sasuke materialized behind her, moving up to her. "Time, space, matter and many other things are entirely open for manipulation in the brain of a target with the use of the Sharingan."

"What is this place?" Pearl asked.

"This is a dimension I discovered during my travels a year ago called the 'Mirror Dimension'." Sasuke began. "This realm expands the human mind's perception in order to further the understanding of the Mystic Arts. And also, expanding the possibilities of what an illusion can do."

"So, this isn't real?" Pearl reached out and touched the air before her, causing it to shift and twist as if it was glass.

"Anything can be real in this realm if you will it with the power of your eyes." Sasuke turned to her. "The potency of your illusions lies in how well you can convince the victim that what they're experiencing is real. Even if they're strength is greater than yours in the real world, in here, the mind rules over all."

"So, you'll be teaching me how to use my Sharingan here?"

"No, we've completed our training for now." Sasuke walked onward.

"What? But, it's only been three months; that can't be all you know." Pearl insisted.

"Well, there's far more that I know, but then I'd be limiting your capabilities to my own." Sasuke explained. "This power is unique to each user and will take form in whatever way is specific to you. Now that you have fully awakened your power, it is yours to discover and use as you see fit."

"Uh, guys?" Gen's voice reverberated around them. "Can you hear me?"

"It seems our conversation has to end here." Sasuke said, vanishing.

Seeing Sasuke leave, Pearl looked at the realm around her one last time, wondering when she would return there. As she prepared to leave however, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, making her turn and see an intense black shroud spreading over the sky in the distance. She squinted and tried to take a closer look when a force yanked her out from behind.

"WHAT THE?" Pearl gasped as she slid back into reality, blinking and finding herself seated on the ground in the forest. "Wh – I was just looking around for a little bit."

"You had taken an hour." Sasuke said, walking up to her. "Time varies greatly between realms, so you need to be careful."

Pearl squinted then looked to her left, seeing Gen seated across from her with a full beard. "Hey, Gen – wait, how long were we out?"

"A few months." Gen stood up, stretching his back. "Though I don't know how long it's actually been outside."

"Gen has managed to get us out of the temporal distortion." Sasuke looked onward and smiled. "We're finally free."

Raising her brow, Pearl scoped the area and realized what he was saying as the forest around them seemed normal again. Standing up, she looked down the slope and saw Oval Town in the distance as the sun rose, grinning with elation.

"Seems everything's remained intact while we were away." Gen walked up to Pearl. "Let's hope they didn't miss us too much."

"Oh, God, I can't thank you enough!" Pearl hugged Gen. "I'll never forget this."

Letting go of him, Pearl went down the slope and headed for the town, followed by Gen soon after. Sasuke, watching the two leave, wondered what to do next, whether to inform the others of what had happened to him. As he went over his options however, he froze in horror was he saw the Oval in the town square.

"It can't be …"

HOLDING HER hands together, Connie shut her eyes and focused on the space between them, holding her breath and closing the outside world from her mind. Parting her hands, the girl looked down and smiled in excitement as a ball of energy slowly sparked to life in her palms. "Whoa …"

"Connie?" Amethyst's voice came.

"What?" Connie turned to her, becoming distracted and causing the ball to dissipate. "Oh man."

"Ah, we finally found you; we were worried for a second there." Amethyst walked up to the girl who was sitting by the doorstep of Mira's clinic.

"You were gone for three days." Connie deadpanned.

"One day, three days; at least I found ya eventually." Amethyst shrugged.

"Hmm." Connie frowned and looked up ahead, seeing Ruby sitting on the sidewalk. "What's up with her?"

"Who, Ruby?" Amethyst turned to the red woman. "I don't know, she won't talk to me for some reason."

Ruby watched as people walked passed her down the street; many ignoring her while some made passing glances and others made curious comments. She sank back into her own mind as she sat by herself when a shadow cast over her, cutting her from her thoughts. Looking up, she frowned in anger when she realized it was Sapphire hovering over her.

"Sapphire?" Ruby rose up.

"Hey, Ruby." Sapphire landed before her, noticing her somber tone. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The red woman pulled a smile.

"Well, we found the corrupted animals we were looking for, so it's over now. Let's go see the others, okay?" Sapphire took her hand, stopping as she noticed the bruises on them. "What happened? Was there another attack?"

"No, it's nothing." Ruby quickly took her hand away.

"Ruby, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Ruby said. "Come on, let's find the others." She walked on, leaving the blue woman concerned.

"Finally, we're back!" Pearl cried loudly, drawing people's attention to her as she entered the street. "I never wanna see that forest again!"

"Hey, it's not that bad." Gen pocketed his hands. "Except for having to fight a buncha tree monsters for weeks on end."

"Well, looks like everyone made it back in one piece." Lapis arrived with Peridot and Lion following her.

"Hey, you're back!" Connie ran up to the group, looking around curiously. "Is Steven with you?"

"No, we hadn't come across him." Sapphire replied, seeing the sadness on Connie's face.

Pearl raised her hand and summoned a small magic circle in her palm, seeing a small blinking light on its upper right side. "We may not have seen him, but he's still close by." She dismissed the light disc. "We can always come back for him after we find the warp pad."

Connie sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Alright."

"Gen, you've arrived!" Mira smiled as she stepped out of her clinic.

"Mira, how's everyone?" Gen walked up to his sister. "Did you find out anything about those creatures?"

"Yes, I surveyed the bodies countless times and it's just as I feared." Mira answered. "Someone corrupted the animals using Gaia Energy."

"But, who could've done this?" Sapphire asked.

"I don't know, but it has to have been someone very powerful given how deeply altered the physiology of the animals became." Mira turned to her.

"What the hell is happening here?!" Sasuke said as he ran into the street.

"Who's that guy?" Connie asked as she saw the man move passed.

"It's a long story." Pearl said simply.

"How did this happen?" Sasuke pointed at the Oval.

"What? The Oval? I dunno, our ancestors just found it." Gen shrugged.

"Ancestors? Oh, this is far worse than I thought." Sasuke frowned.

"Okay, who is this guy?" Amethyst raised her brow.

"I'll explain later." Pearl said.

"What's wrong? The Oval's been the lifeline of our town; we just use it for everyday things – we're not hurting anybody." Gen walked up to him.

"You don't understand; our planet is on the brink of collapse!" Sasuke said.

"How? It's just natural energy." Mira became confused.

"Gaia Energy is beneficial, but it'd damage the ecosystem if it's on the surface like this." Sasuke turned to the Oval. "It's supposed to be concentrated underground and close to the earth's core; like this, it could destroy everything. Plant life would mutate and disease would spread to both man and beast that aren't able to properly harness the energy." Mira became unnerved at this.

"Yeah, I think you're overreacting here, dude." Amethyst chuckled.

"Yeah, if it's so dangerous, then why has nothing happened yet? We've been completely fine this whole time." Gen said.

"Um, Gen, actually –," Mira tried to say.

"How did so much of this surface at once …?" Sasuke pondered.

Sasuke tried to think, reaching into his pocket for a scanner when the ground shook violently, sending a large crack through the earth that caught everyone's attention! A silence fell and tension rose in the air as the rumbling suddenly stopped, Sasuke looking to the Oval and seeing it start to shoot out sparks all around!

"Uh, is it supposed to do that?" Connie asked.

"No, something's wrong." Mira frowned.

"We need to evacuate the town, now." Sasuke drew out his sword.

"C'mon, how bad is a few sparks, really?" Amethyst scoffed.

The Oval began to contort and fizzle uncontrollably, shooting out a wave that knocked the townspeople around it off their feet! The sparks spurting out of it grew larger and dug into the ground, breaking it apart and destroying nearby buildings! Twisting and turning violently, the Oval transformed into a cluster of energy vines that shot through the air and lashed down on the town, laying havoc to everything around it!

"Okay, we're fucked again." Amethyst conjured her whips.

"HOW MUCH power do you have?" Jasper asked Steven as the two looked out into the valley from the mountaintop.

"Uh, what?"

"What's your total power output?" She asked again.

"Um, I thought you already found out when I fought your clone." Steven said. "It's not that much, I guess."

"That was just against me; I can endure a lot." She said. "I want to see how much destructive potential you have."

"Well, I don't know how to do that exactly."

"Hmm." Jasper cocked her neck. "Try and punch a hole that mountain over there." She pointed to her right.

Looking at the orange woman nervously, Steven went over to the nearby mountain in question and took a stance before it. He tried to think of how he would destroy it exactly as she would most likely want it done in a single shot. From all his feats, he had acted on instinct, never consciously drawing on his power. He had to focus.

Deciding to go the simple route, the boy clenched his fist and planted his feet into the ground, pouring as much energy into his arm as he could and he punched the mountain, blowing a massive hole in it ten times his size! He smiled as he looked at his handiwork, turning to Jasper. "How was that?"

Jasper looked at the hole in the mountain, not saying a word and cocked her neck, drawing her out her right arm and clenching her fist. Steven raised her brow as she did this and the woman punched the air before her, causing a shockwave that knocked the boy off his feet and blew the mountain into pieces! Pushing himself up, the boy looked at the falling rocks as the mountain collapsed!

"H-how?" His jaw dropped. "You didn't even touch it!"

"True strength and the ability to destroy anything comes from knowing how to destroy the atoms within." Jasper began. "Objects are only as strong as the bonds of their atomic structure and if you can break that, you can break anything. That is the true power of a Gem."

"But, I thought controlling light was the true power of a Gem." Steven questioned. "All the Crystal Gems make weapons using light, so –,"

"Controlling light is exactly the same." Jasper said. "If you can manipulate light particles or atoms of any kind, you'll be able to gain far more power than you can ever imagine!" Steven considered this.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING to the Oval?" Connie cried as people fled the streets around them.

"This's what happens when Gaia Energy gets to the surface." Sasuke said. "If such large amounts are drawn out of the earth's core, it loses control and destroys everything around it!"

"No, this can't be right!" Mira argued. "We've been living in this town for centuries and it's never reacted like this; someone or something must be causing this to happen."

"Whatever's happening, we need to stop this now before anyone gets hurt." Pearl said.

"I can only stop this if we get everyone out of here!" Sasuke said, quickly jumping back as the ground before him burst open and an Oval tendril shot out at him. "Amaterasu!" He opened his Mangekyo Sharingan eye, causing the energy to burst into black flames that caused it to dissipate instantly!

"Whoa." Pearl said in amazement.

"Split up and get everyone out of the town before we have any casualties." Sasuke ordered, turning to Pearl. "Use your eyes and figure out where the vines will pop up from before they do."

"Right." Pearl nodded, awakening her Sharingan.

"We need to move quickly." Sasuke said to the others. "Get going!"

Looking at the ground, Pearl searched for the energy all around, seeing spots of red energy that glimmered all over the town beneath the earth's surface. Linking her mind with the others, the Gem sent out what she saw and drew out her katana, rushing onwards.

AMETHYST SHUT her eyes as she received the transmissions from Pearl, seeing the red zones appearing throughout the town through her mind's eye. Entering a street, the purple gem drew out her whips and lassoed two energy vines that sprouted and sprung toward two women at a store. She pulled them back, allowing the women to escape, and yanked them further out of the ground, wrapping them around a lamppost.

She stopped to catch her breath, surprised by how strong the vines were when she saw the lamppost bend and break in half! She tensed up and tried to think of what to do next when another energy tube burst out and stabbed her in the back and through her stomach! Spitting out blood, the Gem struggled as the spout hoisted her in the air and began to rip her in half, nearly reaching her gem crystal.

Fighting the pain, Amethyst grabbed the vine and tore herself away from it, splitting her body in half and letting herself crash downwards! Wrapping herself with her whip in midair, the Gem shape-shifted into a gorilla and landed beside the tube, grabbing it and pulling it further out of the ground. Giving her all, Amethyst held the energy vine with one arm and cut it down with the other, causing it to dissipate instantly!

"Shit." Amethyst huffed and returned to her normal form, falling back on the sidewalk. "Thought tentacles would be more fun."

WEAVING HIS arms around, Gen manipulated three energy vines before him and directed them back into the ground, allowing people to safely escape the street. He wiped sweat from his brow and turned to see a bolt of lightning blast past him and blow up a store nearby! He turned and saw Sasuke rushing towards him, frowning angrily. "What're you doing?!" Gen yelled.

"A Gaia tube was emerging from the ground and I stopped it." Sasuke said. "How's the evacuation going?"

"We're moving as fast as we can." Gen said.

"You'll need to be faster – I don't know if I can stop this if it spreads any further."

A loud crash came from their right, drawing their attention to two large tubes that smashed through a building and chased people through a street. Gen and Sasuke rushed towards the scene when two large sheets of steel burst from the earth and blocked the energy vines. Panting heavily, Peridot arrived on the scene, hovering above the people below as she directed the metal.

"Why didn't you do that when that bear attacked you?" Lapis asked as she flew past her.

"Hey, it scared me, alright!" Peridot snapped at her. "Now take care of those things already; I can't hold 'em for long."

Chuckling, Lapis landed atop the metal wall and threw up three hand seals, creating alchemic magical light discs that wrapped around the energy vines. Spreading her hands out, the blue woman ripped the energy tubes apart, turning them into balls of light that shrank and burst into particles that slowly vanished.

"Ooh, pretty." Peridot smiled.

"Now's not the time to gawk." Lapis turned to her. "We need to get these people out of here."

"Hmmph, you don't have to be such a hard ass all the time." Peridot pouted and flew off, directing the people out of the town.

Smiling slightly, Lapis left, not noticing Pearl who quickly dashed into the street, dragging a spear across the earth and cutting through the asphalt. Twirling the weapon, the pale woman created a light mandala shield and blocked a tube of energy as it burst through the ground! She struggled against the force as it began to push her back and quickly summoned seven ethereal clones that held onto the vine.

Pinning the energy down, Pearl sent her clones into the earth, dragging the energy along with it, and chucked the spear into the ground, destabilizing the tube and causing it to disintegrate. The pale woman huffed and looked around when she saw more energy rising beneath Ruby. "Ruby, look out!" She cried.

Hearing Pearl's cries, Ruby quickly jumped back and saw a massive tendril shoot out and crash onto a nearby bar. Channeling heat through her arms, the red woman fired a massive wave of fire onto the tendril, wrapping around it and pulling it back. She smiled as she directed the tube towards the earth when it sudden released a wave that instantly blew out the flames and knocked her off her feet!

The energy contorted and sped towards Ruby, too quickly for her to react, when Connie rushed in between them and blocked it with her sword. "You alright?" The girl asked.

"Connie!" Ruby breathed in surprise.

"You need to be more careful next time." Connie said and deflected the energy, spinning around and slashing at the air before her, cutting the tendril in half and causing it to dissipate. The energy however shifted and flew into her sword, getting absorbed into the weapon! "Whoa!" She jerked back in surprise, seeing a series of magical engravings light up along the length of the blade.

Ruby breathed heavily as she began to realize how weak she had become, clenching her fists in rage when Sapphire flew into the area. "We've evacuated the town." The blue woman said, turning to Sasuke. "Whatever you were going to do, you need to do it now!"

"Alright, meet me on the town's outskirts." Sasuke said, disappearing.

With that, Pearl, Sapphire and the others quickly left, not noticing the Oval beginning to spark more violently.

APPEARING AMONGST the people who stood outside the town, Sasuke reached for a scroll in his cloak and looked behind him to make sure everyone was at a safe distance. "What were you planning to do?" Mira came up to him.

"I'll harness a spell that'll send the Oval elsewhere." Sasuke said. "If my associates can study it, we may find a solution for all the energy that's risen in other locations on earth."

"Uh, what if the Oval isn't an oval anymore?" Amethyst pointed at the town.

Sasuke turned to the town, feeling the earth trembling as the Oval had now disintegrated and started spreading through the town, demolishing and absorbing everything in its path. "No …" Mira looked on in disbelief.

"I have to destroy the town; there's no other option." Sasuke put his scroll away.

"Wait, no, you can't do that; the town's their home." Pearl interjected.

"If we don't destroy the town, then the energy will keep spreading and will destroy everything." Sasuke turned to her. "All we can do is slow down the inevitable, but in this state, even that will be impossible."

Gen watched as the Oval slowly devoured his home, looking back at the people behind him who were distraught as this happened. Sifting his mind, he went up to Sasuke. "Do it, destroy the town."

"You can't be serious." Pearl frowned.

"The Oval's already destroyed most of the town by now." Gen said. "There'll be no stopping it if it goes any further."

Nodding to the white man, Sasuke turned to the town, threw up a hand sign, and thrust his arm forward, activating his purple Rinnegan eye. "Chibaku-Tensei!"

Connie froze as the earth shook beneath her feet, gasping as she saw her hair lift and the leaves on the ground levitate into the air. The ground beneath Oval Town slowly broke apart and flew toward where the Oval used to be – trees and buildings alike getting sucked toward the energy source like a vacuum! The town collapsed into itself and transformed into a gigantic round mass of earth, flying upward and blocking out the morning sun!

Clenching his fist, Sasuke caused the earth ball to crumble and implode, turning into a small black hole that swallowed part of the forest! He opened his hand and closed his Rinnegan, causing the black hole to disappear, and turned to the people behind him. "It's over."

"Well, what do we do now?" Amethyst asked. "Where do these people go?"

"I'll help them relocate." Sasuke said, walking towards Gen. "A short distance from here lies the Breakfast Kingdom; they should have enough space there until we figure out something better."

"I know that place." Gen said. "I hope the king won't be too upset about this."

"In that case, well help you get there." Pearl chimed in.

"But, what about finding the warp pad; we can't keep detouring like this." Sapphire said.

"It won't take that long." Pearl shrugged. "Once we're done helping Gen, we can go."

"You mean helping the people of Oval Town, right?" Ruby corrected.

"Them too." Pearl glanced around, walking onward. "Come on, we don't have time to lose."

Sharing an unconvinced look with Sapphire, Ruby followed Pearl as she, Sasuke and Gen led the townspeople down the dirt road just outside the forest. Shifting through the bushes however were two tall figures who watched as they left, looking closely at the Crystal Gems.

"So, they're gems, huh?" One of them said.

"They must've been the ones who killed our pets." The other frowned. "We'll have to deal with them quickly."

JASPER SQUINTED her eyes as she walked through the vast field filled with hundreds of floating light weapons, moving up to a large sword and poking it, causing it to spark violently. "Could you not do that please, I'm having a hard time maintaining them as is." Steven panted as he held his arms apart and conjured more weapons.

"It's not enough to just conjure up weapons, they also need to be durable." Jasper said. "In order to know how to destroy any atomic structure, you'll need to know how to build them as well."

"Well, I've been doing this for three days straight, so they're not gonna be as strong after a while." Steven retorted, grunting as his energy started to short out. "Could I take a break already?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Jasper stroked her chin.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Steven yelled.

Chuckling, Jasper punched a light cannon to her right, shattering all the weapons instantly. "We can continue this tomorrow." She walked on, letting the boy fall back in a heap. "You've got some spunk kid, why're you always so timid?"

"Well, I don't like cursing a lot." Steven panted. "You can thank Pearl for that."

"Well, pearls have always been the timid type." Jasper said, typing on her gauntlet. "Timid, submissive and shy, the whole lot of 'em."

Moving up to the time barrier that stood around them, the orange woman raised her hand and ran it along the force field, causing ripples that spread outward. "You know, I've had a strange feeling since we've started training." Steven began. "There's a vibe I'm getting from you."

"A vibe? That's probably fear." Jasper shrugged. "Few people don't find me intimidating; it's understandable."

"No, it's different …" Steven squinted. "It's something about your energy; it's like I've felt it before."

"Now, what did I say about getting familiar?" Jasper frowned.

"No, seriously, I feel like I've felt your energy signature before." Steven stood up. "I think I know you."

"Hmmph, now what could you know about me, kid?" Jasper scoffed, creating a small light disc in her hand as she scanned the time barrier.

"And the way your powers work." Steven looked at the light mandala in her hand. "I know that symbol; it's Rose's."

Jasper froze upon hearing this, clenching her fist in anger. "Okay, Steven, time for you to go to bed."

"I'm right, aren't I." Steven said. "I know why you seem so familiar to me." He walked up to Jasper. "You're Rose's sister."


	14. Gaia Ch5 - Shadows

**SHADOWS**

LIGHT PARTICLES wafted off the Oval as it glowed brightly throughout the night sky, sprinkling down gently on those around it. A much younger Mira stood beside her mother as she gazed upon the energy with glee, looking around and seeing people getting healed as the light touched them while others simply meditated and took in its presence.

Looking to her left, she saw the woman who had controlled the Oval in such a way, a tall graceful woman with pink hair and a white dress littered with flowers. She had a gentle presence about her, having warmth that was somewhat similar to the Gaia energy itself.

"Do you think I can be like her one day, mother?" Mira asked. "Do you think I can help people?"

"Of course, you can!" The woman knelt to her level. "Your heart is pure and one day, the Oval will open up to you as it has for her."

Mira's eyes widened in awe as she heard this, turning to the pink woman who dwelled among the people and healed them one after another. Determination grew within her, she knew she'd help her people one day; she would not let them down.

* * *

MIRA LOOKED at the people around her as she walked with them, seeing the panic and distraught on their faces as they were now forced out of the town. Their businesses, their homes, everything was taken away from them in the blink of an eye. If only the pink woman hadn't stopped coming long ago, maybe she could've stopped this calamity from happening.

Gen sunk towards the back of the travelling group and followed quietly behind Amethyst, Connie and the rest of the townspeople, hearing them speaking to each other. Fear and confusion filled their tone, but among them were those who were bitter, those that lamented his leadership and were maddened by what happened. He pocketed his hands and began to sink further into his mind, their words echoing in his thoughts.

"Hey, there." Pearl's voice cut through his contemplations as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Why're you all the way back here? You should be up ahead with me – I mean us, heh." She rubbed her neck.

"When my mother was alive, she always told us to not to mind what people said about us and trust our instincts, that one way or another, we'd do the right thing." Gen said, lowering his head. "But it's hard not to listen when they're all correct."

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked, walking beside him.

"You can hear them; they blame me for what happened." Gen said. "My father would've known better and prepared for this type of thing. He'd be disappointed."

Pearl tried to speak, but hesitated, seeing Gen's grief in his eyes. "Many years ago when I joined the Crystal Gems, our leader Rose sent me on a mission to lead a small team to save a town in Afrisia that Home World soldiers had invaded." She began. "It was the first mission I'd ever led and I got lost several times on the way and ended up getting there days behind schedule. We ran out of rations, I messed up the plans and by the time we got there, I'd all but forgotten the plan for the rescue. But we went in anyway and we saved the townspeople just in time as Home World planned to wipe them out." She turned to him, seeing that she was starting to lose him. "My point is that I didn't give up when it seemed things were backfiring; I kept going."

"I know how tough it can be to lead – Rose is now gone and I'm leading the Crystal Gems now." Pearl put a hand on Gen's shoulder. "You're what your people need the most right now, even if it doesn't seem like it."

Gen smiled. "Thanks."

"Now, c'mon, the others are waiting for us." Pearl took his hand when a loud explosion came from the front of the group! "What the –,"

Pearl froze as a deep purple aura spread around the travellers, forming a dome that surrounded them completely! Sasuke, who summoned the shield with his Mangekyo Sharingan, reached for his blade and stepped back as a massive figure stood in the smoke cloud that resulted from the explosion. "What kind of creature is this?" The man frowned.

Rising from the haze came a massive, towering hedgehog-like beast with three arms made of fire and brimstone! The monster roared wildly, causing the birds in the forest to flee, and following its call came several smaller wolf and snake-like creatures that encircled the travellers! Lapis, Peridot, Lion, Sapphire, Ruby, Amethyst, Connie, Pearl and Gen readied themselves as they were surrounded, drawing their weapons and preparing for anything.

"Great, these bitches again." Amethyst growled.

"What do they want with us?" Connie clasped her sword tightly.

"Well, well, who knew Home World was still following us?" A female voice came.

Pearl squinted and looked behind her, seeing two tall women, both green, who walked toward them. "What is this ...?"

"Guess us Crystal Gems can't catch a break, huh?" The shorter green woman said with a grin. "Let's send these Diamond-loving bitches to hell!"

"Impossible!" Sapphire froze in horror. "You should be dead!"

"What?" The shorter woman blinked.

"Jadeite, Prasiolite, b-but how?" Amethyst dropped her whips.

"Uh, who're they?" Connie asked.

"They're two of Rose's Four Generals!" Pearl stuttered. "They're the Head Sisters of the Crystal Gems!"

* * *

"I HAVE an aunt? I have an aunt!" Steven said in disbelief.

"Alright, Steven, now slow down." Jasper frowned.

"I have an aunt!" Steven laughed. "Wait? Do I have an uncle? Was it that guy from earlier?"

"Stop it, Steven." Jasper became angry.

"Do I have cousins?" Steven looked around. "I bet they're not as handsome." He stroked his chin.

"I said stop it, Steven."

"Y'know, you like saying my name a lot." Steven put his hands on his hips.

Jasper frowned, muttering. "Your mother always knew how to pick cute names."

"Aw." Steven held his cheeks mockingly, getting a glare from her and he quickly froze. "Okay, I'll stop, sorry."

"Okay, so what? I'm your maternal parent's sibling, ya happy, you little shit." Jasper walked off.

"I can't believe it – this's awesome!" Steven smiled, but it died quickly. "But, why haven't the Crystal Gems ever mentioned you before? And why'd you stay on Home World when they left?"

Jasper clenched her fists in anger. "You don't want to pry any further, Steven."

"What happened? Was it bad? I'm sure the Crystal Gems would love to have you come aboard if they knew who you were." Steven said.

"Rose betrayed me and abandoned me on Home World when we planned our escape!" Jasper turned to him.

"What, no, n … mom would never do that." Steven argued.

"You don't know her like I do." Jasper growled. "I can sense her close by and when I find her, I'll have my revenge on her."

Steven froze. "Mom is alive?"

* * *

"JADEITE, IS that you?" Amethyst said in disbelief, walking toward her slowly. "It's been so long …"

"Prasiolite!" Ruby rushed towards her with a grin, moving past Lapis.

"Something's not right here." The blue woman frowned.

"Ruby, stop!" Sapphire yelled. "That's not them!"

"What? But, they're standing right here." Ruby turned to her. "I can sense their energy and everything."

"No, Sapphire's right, something's wrong." Pearl said, activating her Sharingan.

"What're you talking about?" Ruby asked.

"Think about it." Sapphire began. "We saw them die at the hands of Pink Diamond on the battlefield, how are they alive?"

"Maybe they healed and they've been looking for us." Ruby said.

"Look around us, Ruby, does this look like a family reunion to you." Lapis gestured to the creatures surrounding them.

"I saw Prasiolite get shattered in front of me." Sapphire frowned. "They died, Ruby."

"Well, then they must've been brought back somehow." Ruby looked to the others. "Right?"

"That's what I'm worried about." Ruby looked at the two Gems' pallid skin and sunken white eyes. "Whatever brought them back is using their corpses as puppets; that's not them."

"I don't know what nonsense you Home World scum are blathering on about, but we're here to make sure you don't interfere in our plans." Prasiolite said.

"You killed our pets, so we should return the favor by letting them have a snack." Jadeite gave a wicked grin. "They've been hungry."

Jadeite snapped her fingers, causing the monsters to charge at them from all sides!

The fire hedgehog pounced on the aura shield and Sasuke fired a lightning bolt at the beast, pushing it back and throwing up hand signs with his one hand. Thrusting his arm to the ground, he caused the barrier to contort and shift, forming a gigantic ethereal humanoid ribcage that spread around and strengthened it. Drawing his sword, the Shinobi dashed towards the beast.

The Crystal Gems spread out and intercepted the monsters as they tried to get to the magical aura, protecting the citizens inside. "How're these guys back from the dead?" Peridot asked as she hovered past Sapphire on a metallic plate.

"I don't know, but whoever did this must've used some incredibly dark power." Sapphire flew into the air and fired upon the monsters below.

"It's not just any power!" Mira said. "It's Gaia Energy, I can detect it from them too!"

"So, whoever transformed these creatures also brought these two back to life?" Gen pieced it together, firing on a corrupted toad with his rifle.

"Oh, now this bastard's starting to piss me off!" Amethyst summoned her whips and lassoed two corrupted bears, channeling fire through them and burning them to ashes.

"We need to take them down." Pearl said. "This is no way to live."

"You seem sure about yourself, don't you?" Jadeite appeared before her, punching her down and dragging her through the earth. "I've waited for this day for so long." She grinned. "I'll make you Home World scum pay for what you did to our comrades!"

"We are your comrades!" Pearl yelled. "Who did this to you?!"

"Ha, as if I'd fall for Home World's trickery!" Jadeite charged energy through her arm, moving to stab her!

Pearl kicked the green woman off her and rolled to her feet. "Sapphire was right, this isn't you." She summoned her katana. "Forgive me for this, General Jadeite."

Jadeite scoffed and fired an energy ball at Pearl, completely missing as the pale woman sidestepped and let the sphere crash against the earth and absorb part of the ground into it like a vacuum! The two women exchanged rapid attacks as their fight ensued, Pearl deftly wielding her katana and Jadeite swinging with her arms coated in her energy.

Kicking Jadeite's arm aside, Pearl rushed in to stab the Gem only for the green woman to open a portal between them and redirect the blade back at her, causing her to stab herself in the shoulder! Pearl fell to the ground and clasped her shoulder in pain, leaving herself open to Jadeite who summoned another energy ball.

"Home World's soldiers sure have dropped in their caliber since you last attacked." Jadeite chuckled. "There's no way you'd get past my portals being so slow."

"Oh, don't think I forgot you, Jadeite." Pearl smirked as her eyes glowed red.

"What the –," Jadeite raised her brow when she felt something stab her in the back.

Jadeite coughed out blood and realized she'd been stabbed, raising her brow as Pearl disappeared before her. "I studied and looked up to you for years." Pearl appeared behind the Gem, driving her sword deeper into her chest. "Your tact and deception was unmatched, but things are different now."

Four Pearls appeared around Jadeite and stabbed her as well, skewering her from all sides. "You're not as good as you used to be and I've grown stronger." A clone frowned.

Jadeite grunted and teleported out of the way, appearing a few feet up ahead and closing her wound. "You bastard!"

Pearl scoffed and dismissed her clones, walking up to her. "What did you say about me being sure of myself again?"

Elsewhere, Connie cut down two beasts and quickly blocked a corrupted jackal that came charging at her, pushing her back and pinning her against Sasuke's barrier! She grunted and looked back, seeing children backing away in fear as more creatures rushed toward her. Digging deep, Connie pushed back the monster with a swift slash of her blade, sending out a shockwave that knocked the monster's back.

The girl raised her brow in surprise and looked at her blade, seeing magical symbols come alight along the weapon. "Cool."

She jerked back as a loud crack of thunder drew her attention to Sasuke who clashed with the flaming hedgehog monster, drawing the attention of the other beasts around him. Looking around quickly, Sasuke quickly found himself surrounded, pushing back the hedgehog beast and stabbing his blade into its chest! The monster writhed in pain and Sasuke jumped on the blade and sprung off it, launching himself into the air.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" The man yelled as he threw up hand signs and summoned four clones beside him. Charging balls of electricity in their hands, the four Sasukes dove to the ground, targeting multiple monsters at once. "Chidori!"

Sasuke thrust his palm onto his sword hilt, channeling the electricity into the blade and blasting the monster with his energy, blowing it apart instantly! The clones did the same as well, driving their energy into four monsters around them, ricocheting the blasts to other creatures and killing multiple at once! Drawing his sword out of the corpse, Sasuke and his doppelgangers spread out to deal with the remaining creatures, leaving the people behind the aura shield.

Inside the barrier, Mira watched the battle, seeing her brother fighting a corrupted bull and worrying for his safety.

* * *

"WAIT, WAIT, mom is alive? Where is she?" Steven asked.

"I've been looking for her at her temples for a few months now and I believe I'm getting closer, but no, I haven't found her yet." Jasper explained, moving up to the barrier. "Now go to bed, kid, we've got more training tomorrow."

"Hold on, what did you mean by mom betraying you?"

Jasper stopped and sighed. "Your mother and I were lieutenants under Pink Diamond before we decided to rebel and formed the Crystal Gems. She gathered her forces and I covered for her, smuggling weaponry and aiding her anyway I could." She frowned. "But when the time came for us to get to our base off-world for good, she betrayed me and left me to be killed by Home World when they discovered our plans!"

"No, no there has to be a mistake." Steven sifted his mind. "Mom would never do such a thing."

"She is a lying snake!" Jasper turned to him. "If I hadn't fought my way through the Jaspers sent to eliminate me, I'd be dead! When I find her, I'll make sure she feels the pain I've felt as I send her to her grave!"

"You can't be serious, there has to be some misunderstanding." Steven insisted. "Why don't you just talk it over or –,"

"We're long past talk." Jasper walked off. "I've tried finding her for decades and she's avoided me at every turn. She's beyond redemption; she deserves to die."

"No, I won't let you do this." Steven halted her.

"What was that?"

"I won't let you hurt my mom; she's your sister – you don't hurt family." Steven frowned.

Jasper slowly turned to him, her aura steadily exuding from her body. "I better have misheard you, kid."

"If you want you kill her, you'll have to go through me." Steven summoned his shield, infuriating Jasper.

* * *

PRASIOLITE SLAPPED her hands together and thrust her palm into the earth, causing rocks to burst out around her and speed toward Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire and Lion! Weaving through the onslaught, Sapphire flew up to Prasiolite and fired a volley of ice daggers at her. The green gem reacted quickly and erected a wall of earth to block the attack when the ice seeped through and transformed the rock into massive frost spikes that caved in towards her.

Prasiolite rolled out of the way and Amethyst kicked her down, wrapping her with her whips and setting her ablaze. The green Gem growled as the fire washed over her, ripping the ropes apart and smashing her fist against the earth, stabbing Amethyst in the chest and hoisting her in the air. Ruby summoned her gauntlets and rushed up to Prasiolite at high speed with her electricity, knocking Prasiolite with a fiery punch!

Rolling to her feet, the green Gem sent a volley of rocks at Ruby, coating her in earth and burying her into the ground! She moved in for the kill when Lion roared at her, pushing her down with a barrage of sound waves. "Rose's pet, what're you doing with these wretched scum?!" Prasiolite frowned.

Lion became enraged at this, teleporting up to the Gem and clawing her chest, dragging her through the ground. Sapphire descended and manacled her to the ground with ice. "It's over, Prasiolite." She summoned a sword made of ice.

Amethyst broke the earth spike that stabbed through her, closing her wound as she descended to the earth. "There's nowhere to run."

"You won't get away with this! The Crystal Gems will free those you've enslaved!" Prasiolite cried.

"Pearl, how're we doing with those animals they brought along with them?" Sapphire asked telepathically.

"We're close to eradicating them and I'm about to take out Jadeite." Pearl said on the other side.

"Good, let's put them down and get out of here before nightfall – we don't want to camp near the forest with this many people." Sapphire said.

Prasiolite growled, realizing that she had nowhere to go, and she ran her arm across the earth, drawing Gaia Energy from it. Sapphire wielded her ice blade, moving to kill Prasiolite when the ground beneath her turned to sand, trapping her instantly! She rose to her feet and created binds made of rock, binding Ruby and Amethyst!

"We are the Crystal Gems' greatest warriors!" Prasiolite proclaimed. "Underestimating us will be your death!"

Prasiolite looked around, seeing Sasuke's barrier and sent a large crack through the ground toward it. Gen saw this and tried to stop it when a wolf pounced on him, knocking him down. "Mira, hang on!"

Sasuke noticed this and turned around, only to see the shield getting destroyed, exposing the people inside! "The barrier!" He tried to close the tear, but Prasiolite sent him into the earth!

Mira backed up as four monsters gathered around the opening, eyeing the townspeople who stood defenseless! Gen blasted the wolf that held him down with his rifle, trying to get to the aura shield when the monster clawed his leg, tearing at his flesh! Fighting the pain, the man knocked the animal off him and fired at it with more power, blowing it to pieces and limped toward the people getting surrounded.

"Stay behind me!" Mira ordered as the creatures entered the barrier, surrounding them.

Mira looked around, wondering what to do next when the creatures charged at her, too quickly for her to react! A jaguar clawed at Mira when a blade suddenly slashed it in half, revealing Connie who'd arrived just in time! Kicking the carcass away, Connie stood in front of the group, eyeing the remaining five monsters that remained. "Don't worry, I'll hold them off; you need to get outta here!"

"We can't, they're all around us!" Mira said.

"Then stay back!" Connie said, running toward the monsters up ahead and drawing out her scabbard.

Connie ran up to a mutated baboon and quickly used her scabbard to block it as it swung at her, spinning around and stabbing it in the chest! Knocking the monster aside, the girl drew out a bow and fired at two beasts that came at her from both sides, pulling her sword out of the baboon and beheading it! Mira watched in awe as Connie dispatched the creatures with ease, not noticing a creature coming at them from her right!

"Howard, look out!" Mira heard a woman cry, turning to her right and seeing a gigantic bat leap onto him!

The old man failed to react in time, forcing Mira to push him out of the way and getting stabbed in her side as the bat sprayed its spikes around! The creature screeched and came down upon her, knocking her down and driving its fangs into her shoulder, drawing out a bloodcurdling cry! Connie heard this and turned to find the woman being devoured by the monster!

"Get away from her!" The girl yelled, coating her arms in Gaia Energy!

Dropping her weapons, Connie clenched her fist and punched the air before her, sending out a powerful wave that cut through the monsters around her! Not realizing what she'd done, the girl ran up to Mira's side and held her up, seeing her chest drenched in blood as her shoulder was ripped apart!

"Mira, hang on!" Connie tore a piece of her jacket and held it over her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Heh, I guess I was right about you." Mira wheezed, seeing the energy on the girl's arms as it fizzled away.

"Don't try to talk; I can get you out of here."

Mira chuckled weakly. "It's too late." She moved her arm aside, revealing the spike that'd dug into her ribs.

"Mira?" Gen saw this as he staggered toward the two.

"No, no, how do I stop this? Teach me how to heal you." Connie started to panic.

Mira smiled wistfully and placed her hand on the girl's cheek. "Your much more gifted than I thought you were and much kinder too. Don't let that power be used in anger." She coughed out blood.

"Mira, please, tell me what to do!"

"Make sure my brother and the others get to the kingdom in time." Mira said, falling limp in Connie's arms.

"Mira? Mira!" Connie shook the woman, getting no response from her.

Gen quickly ran up to the two and looked down at her sister, his eyes wide in horror. "She … she's dead …"

Tears streamed down Connie's face and she held Mira tightly, Gen looking around and not knowing what to do. "Gen …" Pearl saw this nearby.

Prasiolite looked at them from afar and cackled, moving up to Ruby who was bound nearby. "These humans deserve death if they chose to side with Home World."

"You're going to pay for that!" Ruby growled.

"Silence, filth!" Prasiolite clenched her fist, tightening the rocks around the red woman. "I'll exterminate you and the rest of your kind for getting in our way!"

Prasiolite tightened her grip on Ruby, suffocating her when the earth shook violently, breaking apart and knocking her off her feet! The green Gem rolled to a stop and looked up in surprise as powerful winds swept the valley and storm clouds gathered in the sky! Rising out of the earth and blanketing everything in snow, Sapphire hovered toward Prasiolite blazing in an immense white aura!

"Get away from her!" She spoke in an ethereal voice.

"How is this possible? How can one of Them be here?" Prasiolite backed away from the blue woman.

Sapphire raised her arm, summoning a mountain-sized glacier out of the ground, ripping the forest behind her apart! A portal opened behind Prasiolite and Jadeite grabbed her arm. "We need to get out of here! We can't win this by ourselves!" The woman cried, getting a nod from the other Gem and disappearing with her!

Prasiolite's binds shattered as she vanished, freeing Lion, Ruby, Sasuke and Amethyst who fell to the ground. "What the hell?" Amethyst looked around as snow covered everything.

"Sapphire …?" Ruby breathed in shock, drawing the attention of the blue woman.

* * *

STEVEN PULLED himself to his feet and coughed out blood, barely able to stand as wounds littered his body. He looked onward at Jasper who walked toward him with her energy blazing throughout the mountain, drawing on the last of his strength and creating another shield.

"You're too weak, kid; even if you weren't drained from all your training, you'd never be able to put up a fight against me." She said. "Stand down while you still have a chance."

"I won't … let you hurt my mother." He panted.

"You don't know what her betrayal cost me! You don't know the friends I've lost because of her!" Jasper yelled.

"I don't care; I won't let you lay a hand on her!"

Steven lunged at Jasper and threw his shield at her, getting blown away as the orange woman smashed the weapon with a single punch and knocked him back in the resultant shockwave! Steven crashed to the ground and tried to stand up again, grunting in pain as his arm was broken. He turned around only to receive a swift boot to the chest as Jasper pinned him down!

"Why won't you stay down?" Jasper raised her arm, channeling energy through it!

"Because we're family." He panted. "And I won't let you become a monster because of revenge."

Jasper's expression fell as she heard this, looking down and seeing her nephew covered in blood beneath her. She dismissed her aura and she stepped off him, walking off. "Our training is over." She keyed in commands on her gauntlet, putting down the time barrier and revealing Helio on the other side.

"What happened here?" Helio stood up as he saw Steven on the ground.

"Nothing, let's go." Jasper walked past him, leaving him confused.

Steven grunted as he pushed himself up, seeing the two gems leaving the mountain up ahead. Creating a bubble around him, the boy started to heal and dragged himself to the edge of the mountain, wondering what to do next. He held his stomach in pain as he sifted through his mind when he saw several trees in the distance collapsing one after another. "What the …"

* * *

"WHAT KIND of power is this?" Pearl backed up as snow started to fall around Sapphire.

"Her energy's insane!" Amethyst's mouth fell agape.

"I've felt power of this magnitude before." Sasuke walked toward Sapphire. "She's no mortal."

Sapphire realized she'd drawn everyone's attention, descending to the earth and seeing Ruby look at her in confusion. "Sapphire, what're they talking about?"

Sapphire tried to think, unsure of what to say. "You can't keep lying to them, Sapphire." Lapis said. "It's time to tell the truth."

"What lie? What's going on here?" Pearl asked.

Sapphire looked at Ruby and sighed, dismissing her aura and clearing up the sky above. "I'm sorry."

The blue woman raised her right hand and clenched it, shattering her gemstone, letting the pieces fall to the ground. "Sapphire, what're you doing!?" Ruby yelled, stunned as nothing happened to her.

"I've lied to you all for too long. I'm not a Gem." Sapphire said. "… I'm a Diamond."


	15. Gaia Ch6 - The Past

[fanfiction.net](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12970423/16/Steven-Universe-Shattered-Trilogy)

**THE PAST**

VOICES MUTTERED, chattered and screamed violently over each other in Ruby's mind, her breath quickening as Sapphire stood in the snow that slowly faded away. "What?"

"What're you talking about here? You better be joking or hit your head or something." Amethyst said.

"No, it's true, I'm a Diamond." Sapphire's gaze lowered.

"But, how?" Pearl said in shock.

"She's Blue Diamond's daughter." Lapis explained. "She hid her away for a very long time and I was one of the very few in Home World that knew this."

"No, it's not true." Ruby said, her head slowly shaking. "It's not true."

"It is, Ruby, I'm sorry." Sapphire said.

"You're lying!" Ruby screamed.

"Ruby." Pearl turned to her.

"It can't –," Ruby cut herself off, breathing heavily. "You're one of us, y-you're not them."

"Blue Diamond is my mother … I should have told you sooner."

_"You see, you're nothing! Even to her!" The voices yelled in Ruby's head._

"How could you do this to us!?" Ruby growled.

"Ruby, I think you need to calm down." Pearl moved up to her.

"How could you lie to all of us!? We spent centuries fighting those pieces of shit and here you've being one of them this whole time!"

"Ruby, try and hear her out first." Amethyst said.

"You had the power to save so many of our friends during the war, but you held back and for what? Just to keep up a façade!" Ruby took it all in. "No, no, tell me this's some kind of sick joke, you have to be lying."

Sapphire looked to the red woman and to the other gems, seeing the confusion in their expressions. "When I was born, I was deformed; one eye and less than half of the power of any of the other Diamonds. Because of this, Blue Diamond kept me away so the others wouldn't kill me to uphold the prestige of their godhood." She explained. "I didn't have many friends and barely got outside and it was many years until I saw the outside world and discovered what the Diamonds were doing to the gems of Home World. When I discovered this, I rebelled and took up the identity of Sapphire so that I wouldn't draw too much attention and sealed away my power so Blue Diamond wouldn't find us and wipe us all out."

"But why lie to us? We never kept secrets and we did everything to protect our friends!" Ruby yelled. "Your lies cost them their lives!"

"I tried to tell you, but I –,"

"Why did you lie to me?" Ruby said finally, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ruby …"

Ruby frowned and walked off, heading into the forest and leaving the others behind.

JASPER LOOKED at her fists that were splattered with Steven's blood, releasing steam from them that cleared them away instantly. She tried to shift her focus as she walked through the forest alongside Helio to the location of their ship, failing to keep the thoughts from resurfacing in her mind.

"We should be a few paces from where we cloaked the ship." Helio looked at a holographic map projected from his gauntlet. "If my scans of this area are correct, we should be able to find another of your sister's temples."

"I can't believe I almost killed him." Jasper stopped in her tracks. "I almost killed my own nephew."

"Well, he got in your way; we must eliminate all obstacles." Helio dismissed the map and turned to her. "He got what was coming to him."

"How could you say that?" She frowned.

"I'm merely stating the obvious." He replied blankly.

"I thought you of all people would care about what'd happen to him." Jasper said, her hand running down her stomach. "Especially when our child's on the way."

"Well, our child is different." Helio walked on. "Our mission is to kill your sister then the Diamonds, so your sibling's offspring is no different." He stopped as he realized she'd remained behind, turning back to her. "What is it?"

"Rose deserves to die for what she did, not him." Jasper moved up to him. "She took everything from me, you wouldn't understand."

"I can see it clearly in your eyes." Helio replied. "I can tell how important this is to you, but you need to make up your mind. You can't let your emotions cloud your judgment because hesitation can get you killed when we face the Diamonds." He left. "I'll follow you whatever your decision may be, but you must stick to it or our plans will be all for naught."

Jasper tried to speak, but cut herself off, turning and looking back at the mountains she'd left Steven at in the distance. Shaking her head, she followed Helio as he went deeper into the forest.

THE VOICES in Ruby's mind loudened as she made her way down the footpath, her vision blurring and her breath quickening as she moved on. She frowned as apparitions of her thoughts appeared one after another, worsening the cacophony of emotion that consumed her.

_"We should have killed this one when we had the chance." White Diamond said condescendingly._

_"Fucking weakling, she's only holding us back." Doc Ruby looked away in disgust._

_"A meaningless life like yours only has one purpose, serving the Diamonds." Jasper glowered at her._

_"You need to stay back and protect the others, we'll handle this." Sapphire said, vanishing from her._

"Shut up!" Ruby clasped her head in rage, frightening birds nearby that fled quickly.

Tears dripped down to the ground and the gem fell to her knees, beginning to hyperventilate as she cried out. Her thoughts were cut short as she noticed something at her knees, raising her head and seeing a trail of gem corpses lining the footpath before her!

"No, no, I promised I'd help you." She looked around in a panic.

"Ruby?" A hand came on her shoulder.

The red woman jerked back in surprise, squinting as she saw who it was behind her. "Peridot?"

"Hey." The green girl said timidly, sitting on a nearby rock. "Are you alright?"

"I, um …" The red woman wiped her tears and got to her feet, seeing that the corpses had disappeared like the apparitions. "I … I'm not sure."

"I'm sorry about what happened." Peridot said. "It must be tough knowing someone you care about has lied to you about who they are."

Ruby stared at the ground before her and exhaled. "I'm not angry that she lied, I grew up being lied to by everyone around me; I shouldn't have trusted her. I just wish I could have done more, could've meant more to the Crystal Gems." She explained. "I've lagged behind for centuries and while we were Garnet, I thought I'd finally gotten stronger, but I was fooling myself. My friends have died because I've been too weak to do anything about it. That's on me."

"Well, guess we're two pieces of shit that're better off down the drain, huh?" Peridot bent her knees to her chest. "Weak, ineffectual, worthless; that's what everyone says."

"Only worthy of being in service to the Diamonds." Ruby added.

"But it doesn't have to be that way; we don't have to listen to what everyone else says." The green girl said. "Strength isn't everything."

"But, how do you help anyone if you're just holding them back?" The red woman turned to her.

"You stop fighting their way and fight in your own." Peridot said. "I know I'll never be as strong as Lapis or Jasper or Helio, but I use my smarts to help where I can." She stood up. "Prove the Diamonds wrong and find your way to defeat them."

Ruby smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

"C'mon, the others are gonna wonder where we wondered off to." Peridot walked on, Ruby following her soon after.

"I'VE KEPT this from you all for too long and I want to make things right." Sapphire said to the Gems. "I'll be forthright with you from now on, no more lies."

Silence fell among the others, Pearl sifting her mind. "I'm sorry; I need to process all of this." She walked off, going to Connie and Gen.

"Well, I don't hold it against you at least, if that helps." Amethyst said, returning to the others.

Lapis watched the others leave. "You should take responsibility for your decisions." She turned back to Sapphire, seeing Ruby and Peridot coming from the forest behind her. "Peridot, where'd you go off to?"

"Aw, c'mon!" Peridot whined as the blue woman flew up to her.

"Let me look at you, you better not have gotten hurt." Lapis studied her, gaining a groan from the girl.

Sapphire turned to see Ruby arrive, going up to her. "Ruby, I need to talk to you."

"No, it's alright; I understand what you had to do." Ruby said. "You must've been through a lot; I can't hold that against you."

"Oh … but, I –,"

"I told you, it's okay." Ruby pocketed her hands, walking off. "It wasn't your fault."

Sapphire watched as the Ruby walked on, seemingly out of her life for good, and returned to the townspeople. Sasuke and his clones moved quickly through the scattered group of people, checking if any of them were injured. Pearl arrived and went up to Connie who laid Mira's body on the ground with two women, looking on and seeing Gen standing alone on his own.

Gen looked out into the forest, sensing Pearl slowly move up to him. "I failed again, I failed her."

"No, Gen, it's not your fault." Pearl said quickly.

"I should've known something like this would happen if those creatures went on unchecked." He said. "I could've put a wall around the town, laid traps in the woods, redirected the energy flow, I –,"

"Gen, there's no way you could've known this would happen."

"Mira's dead and I couldn't do anything to stop it!" Gen said, sifting his mind and sighing. "I'm sorry, you're only trying to help and I'm unloading all of this on you." He clenched his fist. "I'll make sure I don't fail again."

"What're you talking about?" Pearl raised her brow.

"I'll make sure the bastards who made those monsters pay when we find them!" Gen frowned.

"Hold on, you can't just –,"

"Hey, guys!" Steven's voice called out.

Pearl and the others turned to see Steven descending from the skies, looking at the people scattered about. "What happened here?" He asked.

"Steven? Since when can you fly?" Amethyst grew curious.

"Since a couple weeks ago, but we can't talk; something's killing the forest." Steven said.

"What do you mean?" Sapphire asked.

"Trees and animals are dying one after another not too far from here." Steven elaborated. "I don't know what's happening, but it's happening fast."

A low rumbling swept through the earth beneath them, causing to Sasuke to rise with a start, looking into the distance. "The boy's right, something's killing the forest." He waved his arms, channeling his aura and sending individual pockets of it over the townspeople, Gen and Connie.

Dismissing his clones except for one, Sasuke moved up to the doppelganger and gave it an instruction, moving up to the Gems. "My clone will take the people to Breakfast Kingdom from here; we need to stop what's killing the forest before it reaches them."

"Wait, hold on, what's going on here?" Amethyst asked.

"I don't know, but I can sense it coming close too." Sapphire said.

"Something or someone's sapping the Gaia Energy from the earth." Gen explained. "If this spreads, they'd suck the planet dry and it'd crumble."

"Then we need to stop it at the source." Pearl decided.

"Right." Gen agreed.

"No, you need to go with the others." She went up to him.

"Why? I can help."

"Your people need you, Gen," Pearl insisted. "They can't lose both of their leaders in one day, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Gen's brows furrowed as he looked at her, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Alright, I'll be with them."

Gen returned to the others, sharing a glance with Pearl who stood with Sasuke, Connie and the Gems. Making sure everyone was accounted for, Sasuke's clone opened its Rinnegan eye and performed hand signs, opening a wormhole that they went through, disappearing with it.

Sasuke turned back to the Gems only to see trees beginning to crumble. "It got here quickly." He summoned his purple aura over himself.

Trees around them began to wither and crumble, falling to the ground whose grass turned into ash at the feet of the Gems. Connie looked at the decay as it spread onward, seeing the woods slowly die. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Someone with immense power hell-bent on destroying the earth." Sasuke said, turning to Steven and the other Gems. "It seems the decay doesn't affect people of your kind, so that's a relief." He huffed. "Still haven't eaten or slept in three months and I'm exhausted."

"This is you 'exhausted'?" Amethyst said in amazement. "Shit, I wouldn't wanna fight you at full power."

"We need to move quickly." Sapphire said. "Steven, where did you say you saw the decay first coming from?"

"I'll show you the way." Steven flew off. "Follow me."

PEARL, SASUKE, Connie, Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, Lion, Lapis and Peridot ran through the forest now-turned wasteland as Steven flew up ahead of them near sunset. Pearl looked on in disbelief as the once lush forest now stood as a massive pile of ashes with barely any trees standing, clutching the hilt of her katana and opening her Sharingan.

"We should be getting to the mountains soon." Steven said. "If they're still standing that is …"

Sasuke frowned as he looked through different light spectrums, turning to Pearl. "You can sense it too, can't you?"

"Sense what?" Connie asked.

"Something powerful." Pearl replied. "I hope it's not what I think it is."

"Huh?" Amethyst squinted when she felt the presence herself. "No way."

"It can't be …" Sapphire's eye widened in surprise.

"It is." Steven stopped in his tracks, looking to his right and seeing light shimmering off the ground. "Something's over there."

"Well, we need to be careful." Sasuke drew his sword. "We shouldn't be callous."

"Right." Pearl said, moving ahead of the group. "Let's go."

The pale woman walked careful towards the shimmering lights, followed by Steven who landed and walked closely beside her. She stepped forward when she felt something in her way, running her hand across it. "There's a barrier here."

"Can you get past it?" Connie asked.

"Let me do it." Sapphire moved up to Pearl when a bright light sparked to life in mid-air before them, nearly blinding them!

Pearl's eyes blinked open as the light subsided and she gasped in shock as the invisible barrier diminished, opening them up to a seemingly alternate realm as they now stood on the courtyard of a sanctuary. The Gems looked around as the forest was a mere few feet behind them standing in darkness, in complete contrast to the brightly lit, beautiful concourse.

Plants, reeds and vines intertwined the fountain and statues of fancily dressed women that led up to a large temple at the center up ahead with large doors. The Gems were hesitant though enthralled by what they saw, conflicted as their fears intensified.

"Is this the source of the decay?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." Steven frowned.

The doors of the building began to move, drawing the group's attention as they slowly slid open, giving way for a tall woman to step onto the front yard. Clad in a white dress with long flowing hair and pink skin, the woman looked on at the people who stood there, completely oblivious to the shock on their faces. "Hey, you've arrived! What took you so long?" She grinned like a child.

"Mom?" Steven froze.


	16. Gaia Ch7 - Mother

**MOTHER**

AN INNOCENT smile spread across Rose's face as she saw Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby and Amethyst standing before her, not noticing Lapis, Peridot, Lion and Steven who were nearby. "Welcome to the latest of my temples!" The pink woman gestured at the building. "I made it more recently and I've finally finished all of them now! What do you think?"

"Rose …" Ruby managed as confusion gripped her.

"It's been such a long time, there's so much I've wanted to discuss." Rose moved up to them.

"What happened? We thought you were dead." Amethyst's brows stitched.

"Yeah, there were even statues of you in the sanctuary of the beach house." Connie said.

"Oh no, I just left for a bit." Rose chuckled.

"It's been nine years." Sapphire stated.

"I know, right? Who would've thought it'd take me this long to finish things up." Rose smiled. "I'd left you guys clues so you could find the temples and help you out, but I guess they were too well hidden – I go overboard sometimes. Man, I wish you'd come sooner; I've been waiting for a while."

"Mom …?" Steven said finally, drawing her attention to him.

"Steven, is that you?" Rose grinned, rushing up to him and embracing him. "Ooh, you've grown so much! I almost didn't recognize you!"

Sapphire watched as the pink woman embrace her son, frowning as thoughts began to run across her mind. "What were you doing here exactly, Rose?"

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to explain." Rose stood up. "I started building the temples long ago because I wanted somewhere I could train and harness my energy more efficiently." She walked across the courtyard. "But as I did my research, I discovered Gaia Energy and repurposed the sanctuaries so I could unearth it globally and absorb it to make myself stronger."

"You did what?" Steven frowned.

"It's not that complex an idea to wrap your head around, Steven." Rose turned to him, looking to the others. "And now that you're here, we can accomplish my plans." She extended her hand. "Join me and receive more power than you ever thought possible."

"You can't be serious." Amethyst frowned.

Shivers went down Sapphire's spine as she took this in. "What is this power for?"

"To rule this planet." Rose said simply. "Humanity needs a protector from Home World and I'm the only one with the power to do so." The warmth in her expression slowly diminished.

"So it is true." Pearl spoke finally. "What I saw in the Black Tower in Beach City … it was the Gaia Energy you unearthed that Home World was after! You caused the invasion!"

"No way …" Peridot said in surprise.

"You destroyed Oval Town." Steven's eyes dilated in horror. "The corrupted animals, the forest, the Oval; it was all your doing."

"Well, sacrifices must be made." Rose's voice became cold. "Animals, humans, they're all the same and if lives must be lost to achieve my goals, then so be it."

"You monster!" Ruby growled.

Rose's eyes squinted as she looked at Ruby then at Sapphire. "Huh, I didn't realize you two were apart now; such a shame that you've now become weaker." She looked to the others. "Now that I think about it, you've all gotten weaker; I don't even think I can use any of you anymore."

"What did you just say?" Amethyst's blood began to boil.

"You're all of no use to me now." Rose moved amongst the Gems. "Garnet, the weapon I've wanted, is now gone and the midget quartz Amethyst has now grown more familiar with humans. You've even allowed a human into your ranks." She frowned as she went past Connie. "Only Steven has ascended and unlocked his cosmic potential; the only reason I had him in the first place."

"Jasper was right about you." Lapis interjected. "You really are a lying snake."

Rose frowned as she heard this, turning her attention to Lapis and Peridot and finally noticing Lion who was nearby. "Hmm, it seems the curse of silence I put on you didn't keep the truth from spilling out, did it, Lion?" She smirked. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"How could you?" Tears welled up in Pearl's eyes. "Why're you doing this?"

"Oh, Pearl, my precious little Pearl; my greatest disappointment." Rose walked up to the woman and held her face. "You were so loyal and hopelessly in love with me that it made you the perfect toy, but I failed to find the potential in you to transform into anything of worth."

Sasuke grew impatient as he listened to all of this, reaching for his sword when he noticed small shards of glass slowly rise from the earth. "No, Pearl."

Pearl's breath quickened as her emotions rushed to the surface, her Sharingan beginning to change the more Rose spoke. "In the end, you were just another play thing; once a slave, always a slave." The pink woman sneered.

Pearl screamed out in rage, releasing a powerful concussive wave that blew Rose and the others several feet back and bended the world around her like glass! Sasuke caught himself in midair and frowned as he saw everything shift and turn like a kaleidoscope, seeing Steven and the Gems floating haplessly in the air. Seeing Pearl at the center of the chaos, the Shinobi opened his Rinnegan and sucked everyone into a wormhole, grabbing Pearl and diving through the gateway!

STEVEN COLLAPSED onto the courtyard of the Temple, groaning and sitting up to see Rose and the Gems recuperating as well. He turned around and saw Sasuke landing on the ground with Pearl in his arms who breathed heavily. "What the hell happened?" Ruby groaned.

"Hold on Pearl, just focus on your breathing." Sasuke tried to console the pale woman as she began to hyperventilate, noticing her Sharingan take up another form.

"Did I drink too much beer again?" Amethyst rubbed her head.

"It was Pearl." Sapphire realized.

"Whoa …" Lapis said.

"Hmm, perhaps you may be of use." Rose noted.

"Enough!" Steven exclaimed in rage, catching Rose aback. "Do you know how alone I felt all this time? Seeing everyone at school and in the city with their parents and living happily thinking I never had a mother when you just abandoned me!" He went up to her. "You left me and dad just so you could go on a mad power trip!"

Rose looked at her son condescendingly, trying to speak when a sword pierced her through the chest inches away from her gemstone! "I've had enough of this." Sasuke said as he appeared behind her, leaving a clone with Pearl. "You're going to pay for what you've done to the earth." He drove his blade deeper when Rose collapsed into a pile of dust. "What in the world?"

Rose rushed at the Shinobi from behind with her shield, sending him toppling across the courtyard! Sasuke rolled to his feet, looking up only to meet the steel of the shield again as the Gem sped up to too fast for him to react and smacked him aside, blowing him several meters back into the mountain range in the distance!

"Disgusting human." Rose dismissed her shield and vanished.

"Wait, stop!" Lapis called out when she saw the pink woman reappear at the steps of the Temple.

"Eliminate them while I complete the ritual." Rose said and Jadeite appeared out of a portal beside her alongside Prasiolite, Ametrine, and Aventurine!

"It'll be our pleasure." Jadeite said as she stood amongst her three Sisters.

Rose moved up to the entrance of the Temple, leaving her Generals behind when she heard the hum of an aircraft arrive. She turned and frowned as she saw Jasper and Helio arrive in a large ship, stepping out via the hangar doors. "It seems my assessment was correct." Helio noted as he looked around.

"Jadeite, Prasiolite, Ametrine, Aventurine." Jasper said in shock s as she saw the four. "What happened to you?"

"They gave up their mortal forms in order for me to ascend." Rose stated. "You would ascend as well if you hadn't grown soft and tried to save the weaklings on Home World."

"Rose?" Jasper turned to her and the pink woman went through the doors that closed behind her. "Rose!"

Jasper ran onto the courtyard and stopped as the earth began to shake violently and cracks began to appear in the concrete floor! She looked around and frowned as Gaia tendrils burst out of the ground around the courtyard, spreading out rapidly through the surrounding wasteland!

"She's destroying everything again!" Amethyst cried, summoning her whips.

"Then we need to stop her now." Sapphire coated her arms in ice.

"But we'll need to get past these guys first." Connie drew out her sword.

Sasuke appeared beside Connie, stretching out and loosening up. "Three months without sleep, it'll get to ya." His right eye twitched. "Let's get this done quickly before I pass out from fatigue; I'm losing my reaction time." He cocked his neck. "She does hit hard though."

"Alright, listen up!" Pearl, having composed herself, drew out her sword. "Steven, Jasper, Helio, Sasuke and I will go after Rose and stop her ritual before it destroys Breakfast Kingdom while you guys fight the Sisters and keep them away from us."

"That sounds like a plan." Helio said.

"Okay, move out!"

"Right." Sasuke nodded, opening a portal that sucked him, Jasper, Helio, Steven and Pearl in and vanished!

Lapis, Sapphire, Amethyst and Connie prepared themselves as they stared down the Four Generals, each of them apprehensive as the tendrils grew in number all around the Temple. "It disappoints me to know that this is what becomes of the Crystal Gems after we departed." Aventurine noted.

"Indeed, how pathetic." Ametrine said.

"Don't think this will go like it did the last time we fought." Jadeite frowned.

"We are far more powerful united than when apart." Prasiolite erected large boulders out of the ground around her.

"And so are we." Connie held to her sword.

"I think we're all tired of talking at this point." Amethyst charged fire through her whips.

Leaping forward, Lion let a powerful roar that sent a sonic wave at the Four Generals, forcing them to jump out of the way as it destroyed the ground in its path! The Gems split up as a battle ensued with Amethyst and Connie confronting Prasiolite, and Lapis and Sapphire facing Ametrine, Aventurine and Jadeite all at once.

Peridot and Ruby remained behind as the dust settled, seeing the others engage the enemy. "Well, what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

Peridot looked at the tendrils spreading out and smirked. "I think I have an idea."

STEVEN, PEARL, Jasper, Helio and Sasuke ran down the winding halls of the Temple as the building shook violently and slowly collapsed. Avoiding a falling brick from the ceiling, Pearl looked through the walls with her Sharingan, seeing several small vein-like Gaia tubes running inside the structure.

"It seems Gaia Energy powers the Temples." Pearl said.

"It figures, huh?" Jasper frowned. "Explains why she built so many far off from each other even though you guys set up base in Beach City."

"Well, with all of it in here, it's hard to tell where Rose is." Pearl frowned.

"This just shows how truly adept she is at controlling the energy." Sasuke stated. "We've come across many such Temples in the past, but failed to enter or sense anything here."

"And who is 'we' anyway?" Steven asked.

"Scanners are detecting Rose a few feet west of here." Helio said, cutting off Sasuke.

"Okay, let's –," Pearl tried to speak when a large energy tube burst through the wall, forcing her to block it with her katana!

"You two continue without us!" Helio said as he enlarged his right arm and caught another photon vine! "We'll keep these at bay!"

Steven ducked as an energy tendril cut horizontally through the hallway and he leapt up, pinning it against the ceiling. "Come on, let's go!" He called out to Sasuke and Jasper.

"Stay safe, alright." Jasper said to Helio who gave her a nod and she ran on with Sasuke, being followed by Steven who flew after them.

ELSEWHERE IN the temple, Peridot and Ruby walked through a hall, shuddering as tremors violently shook the walls! "Whatever your plan is, we'd better do it quickly before we get buried here." Ruby stared at the sand that trickled from the ceiling.

Peridot worked on a holographic projection from her gauntlet and scanned the walls, stopping as she found what she was looking for. "Here it is!"

Ruby turned to the wall in question and was puzzled by the magic inscriptions and imagery that seemed to be of Buddhist and Druid descent, raising her brow. "So … what is this?"

"The key to figuring out how to stop Rose!" Peridot read the imagery. "I've studied a lot of religious and satanic rituals practiced by Terrans and many of them are delicate and can be ruined by the slightest alteration, and I believe Rose is performing one based on mixed Terran practices." She looked closely. "And it seems you're just perfect for the job!"

"How?"

"I'm not exactly sure what the ritual is yet, but it relies heavily on nature and plant life, which is why the temple remained untouched early on when the forest decayed." Peridot said. "It seems fire would destabilize the ceremony and cause it to collapse – and you have plenty of that!" She smiled. "Let's ruin her plans."

CONNIE RODE on Lion's back as the animal ran through a maze of jagged rocks Prasiolite summoned from the earth outside the Temple, the green woman becoming aggravated at their deftness and raising two large boulders into the air geokinetically! The girl reacted quickly and fired two Gaia-coated arrows at the rocks with her bow, causing the rocks to crack!

Wrapping one of the boulders with her whip, Amethyst spun in midair and chucked the rock at Prasiolite who summoned a gigantic mass of jagged, tearing through the rock like butter! Amethyst fell to the ground from the impact and the green gem smashed her to the ground with a large rock hand, drawing blood!

"You've grown weak like the humans!" Prasiolite frowned. "Careless and lacking tact; you'll never defeat me this way!"

"And you act a lot like a gem!" Connie took aim with her bow, "Easily distracted."

Lion let out a sonic roar, flinging Prasiolite several meters back, and Connie shot her in the chest, pinning her onto one of her own rocks! Prasiolite's rock hand collapsed and Amethyst got to her feet, dusting herself off as Connie and Lion came to her side.

"Let's show her how 'weak' humans really are." Connie said.

"With pleasure." Amethyst wiped the blood off her lip and lunged at Prasiolite at blistering speeds. "Clothesline!" Amethyst cried as she struck Prasiolite across the neck with her forearm, smashing her through the rocks and spinning her around! "Spinning Suplex!" She hoisted her into the air and crashed down onto the ground, breaking it apart and sending out a wave that rocked both Connie and Lion! "I've missed this!"

AT THE Temple courtyard, Sapphire flew back as Ametrine fired a radioactive blast at her from her palm, burning through the concrete! Lapis collided with Aventurine using water whips as the enemy gem attacked with massive thorn bushes she manipulated, getting sucker punched by Jadeite who leapt out of a portal behind her and knocked her down!

Skidding to a stop, Lapis and Sapphire assessed their opponents as they spread out and cornered them. "Guess they're more powerful than we thought."

"It seems so." Sapphire said, her expression falling. "Lapis, I'm sorry about what happened on Home World; I didn't mean to get you involved."

"No, no, I understand." Lapis replied. "Bystanders died, but it wasn't your fault; it was out of your control." She turned to the blue woman who smiled in relief. "So, you wanna stop holding back on them?"

Sapphire sighed. "I was expecting more of a challenge."

"Yeah, me too." Lapis shrugged. "But it is how it is."

"What are you two blubbering about?" Jadeite raised her brow when a shard of ice struck her shoulder! "What the?"

Sapphire ascended into the air, gathering storm clouds in the sky and releasing a white aura over her body! The three Generals became tense as the heavens darkened and out of the clouds came large jagged balls of hail that rained down, forcing them to try to evade the volley of projectiles! Aventurine jumped back from an ice shard when her cheek suddenly slit open, catching her off guard!

The three gems froze as drops of water floated in the air around them, drawing their attention to Lapis who slowly created a razor sharp mist over the entire courtyard! "Let's finish this."

ROSE CLENCHED her fist over a small bowl, draining out blood from a slit on her palm enough to fill the vessel. Sealing the wound, the Gem moved to the center of the large round room where nine bowls filled with her blood sat on the circumference of a magical wheel etched into the floors design. Veins of Gaia energy ran through the walls, leading to the end of the hall where a gigantic statue of a woman's head sat with its mouth stretched wide open.

She smiled as the magic markings in the room came alight when the door behind her exploded into pieces as Jasper punched her way through, followed by Steven and Sasuke. "What is all this?" Jasper looked at the room.

"Jasper, you're here." Rose turned to her. "I didn't think you'd want to see me at all honestly."

Jasper's anger wilted as she gazed upon her sister at the center of the ritual room, her mind flooding with confusion and grief. "What did you do to the Sisters?"

"I told you, they ascended."

"They were our friends!" Jasper yelled, shaking her head in horror. "This isn't you; you'd never do something like this, not to family."

"You have to stop this now." Steven said. "Please, we can figure out a way to fix this."

"We all have to make sacrifices." Rose held her arms out, absorbing the energy from the vines around her. "Because of that, I have become more, more than you worthless mortal clods would ever understand. I will become God!"

A deep green aura exploded out of Jasper as she yelled out in rage and she summoned her helmet over her gemstone, speeding across the room and colliding with Rose who blocked with her forearm, causing the entire room to tremble! Steven and Sasuke came at Rose from both sides, Steven with his shield and Sasuke with his sword and Rose blocked them all!

Steven raised his brow and jerked back in surprise as Rose manifested two extra ethereal arms and held both him and Sasuke back telekinetically! The pink gem smacked Jasper aside with a shield she summoned and repelled Steven and Sasuke when Sasuke froze in midair, confusing her. "Amaterasu!" The Shinobi opened his Mangekyou Sharingan, causing the Gem's face to erupt in black flames!

Rose writhed in pain as she burned and Sasuke skidded on the ground, raising his hand. "Bansho-Teni!" He cried out, sucking her into his grip telekinetically and smashing her into the floor! "Shinra-Tensei!" He lifted the woman and blasted her toward Jasper!

Jasper collided with Rose in midair and punched her to the floor, absorbing the kinetic energy from Sasuke's attack, and releasing it in a blast of orange energy that burned the entire room! Rose spat out blood and Jasper pinned her down by her neck, conjuring a photon sword that she raised high into the air! She swung down for the final strike when she stopped in place as she saw her injured sister before her.

She breathed heavily and relinquished her aura from the room, dismissing the sword she created. "I can't kill you." She realized. "You're my sister."

"Then you're weak like all the rest." Rose frowned at her.

"Rose, you have to stop this, it's not too late." Jasper said. "You can stop the ritual and we can figure things out from there."

Rose remained silent, seemingly considering her words, when a smirk spread on her lips. "You know, you always frightened me back on Home World with how ferocious you'd get, but I guess altruism and the prospect of motherhood has made you weak."

"Rose, I –," Jasper tried to speak when Rose stabbed her with a sword!

"Jasper!" Steven cried out.

Jasper grunted as Rose pushed the blade further in, grabbing the orange gem's helmet and shattering it in her grasp, cracking her gemstone as well! The pink woman tossed Jasper aside and got to her feet, frowning as Steven quickly flew to Jasper's side. She moved toward Steven when she saw Sasuke drawing out his sword.

"Enough!" Rose raised her arm, manacling him telepathically and thrusting him through a wall!

"Jasper, hold on!" Steven spread a bubble over the woman as she wheezed and bled out on the floor, frowning as she saw Rose come up to her.

"Let her die, Steven, she's nothing to us." Rose said.

"She's your sister!"

"And that doesn't matter anymore." Rose held out her hand. "Join me, Steven; you and I can protect humanity more than the Gems ever could."

"I'll never join you." Steven frowned.

Rose sighed. "Where'd we go wrong with you?" She shook her head. "At least your father understands my cause."

"What're you talking about?" Steven rose to his feet.

Rose waved her arm, opening a portal beside her that let out a stasis pod that held Greg inside! "Say 'hello' to our son, Gregory."


	17. Gaia Ch8 - Greg Universe

**GREG UNIVERSE**

STEVEN'S EYES widened in shock as he saw Greg lying unconscious in the hovering pod beside Rose, his mind racing with memories of his last moments with him on the shores of Beach City during the invasion. "H-how? I saw him die!" Steven turned to Rose.

"There's so much you don't understand," Rose held her hand out to him. "Join us, Steven, join me and become a god!"

"What did you do to him?" Steven backed away from her.

Rose huffed. "I think there's been enough talk."

"Steven, look out!" Pearl's voice called out.

Steven turned to where Pearl's voice came from and jerked back as he saw a Gaia tendril slithering on the ground up to him! Pearl rushed into the room through a hole in the wall and javelined a spear at the photon vine, piercing it and causing it to disintegrate!

Rose frowned at this and tried to attack Steven while his back was turned and Pearl conjured a clone between them that blocked her with a broadsword. "You monster! You're taking people's life force using those vines!" The doppelganger growled.

"Well, what difference would it make? Their lives are worthless if they aren't in service to me!"

"And you'd kill your own son just to get stronger?"

"Move out of my way!" Rose smacked the clone's sword away and cut it down with an axe she conjured when the duplicate melted into a white liquid that wrapped around her arm! "What the..?"

Steven turned to Rose and squinted as the woman flailed wildly at the air around her. "What's she doing?"

"I put her in a Genjutsu, but I doubt it'll work for long." Pearl ran up to Steven and looked around, seeing Sasuke passed out on the ground. "Oh great, he's out of steam."

A crash drew their attention to the hole in the wall as Helio broke his way through, turning to his right and seeing Jasper lying beneath Steven's energy bubble. "What happened?" He rushed up to the orange gem.

"Rose attacked her earlier." Steven explained.

"No, no, no." Helio came to Jasper's side, seeing the blood on her stomach. Reacting quickly, he drew out a star-shaped device and placed it on the light bubble, causing it to spark and slowly turn white. "You'll be fine, just hang on." He held her hand through the bubble, placing his other hand over her wound. "He'll be fine."

Steven looked on in worry as Helio watched over Jasper when he heard a loud splat behind him, making him quickly turn to see Rose's head explode! Steven and Pearl watched in horror as Rose's body fell limp as her blood and brains splattered on the ground, forcing them to back away as it bled all over the floor.

"What the hell just happened?" Steven asked.

"I don't know; my illusion wasn't supposed to do that." Pearl frowned as the blood came up to her feet, forcing her to rise into the air.

Helio frowned as he took a good look around the room, noticing that Rose's blood was draining toward the nine bowls around the room! "We have to destroy the nine vessels!" He yelled out.

"What?" Pearl turned to him.

"She's draining her blood into them; it has to be part of the ritual!"

Pearl looked down and realized what Helio was talking about, trying to summon a sword when Steven flew toward the pod Greg was in. "Steven, stop!"

"Dad, hang on!" Steven cried, reaching out to his father when the room trembled and a Gaia tube shot out of the ground and got in his way!

A violent earthquake swept through the temple and collapsed it rapidly, forcing Steven, Helio and Pearl into the air as the room fell apart! Pearl frowned as the blood on the ground slowly evaporated, looking upward and seeing the eyes of the room's statue come alight!

"An illusion spell that alters the energy flow in the brain and manipulates all the senses, very interesting." Rose spoke as her body reformed and got to its feet. "I'll be sure to never let that trick me again!"

Steven, Pearl and Helio, who held Jasper beside him an enlarged arm, backed away as Gaia vines tore the temple apart and swam around Rose who levitated into the air. The pink Gem held her hands out and drew power from the tendrils around her, sapping them dry until they disintegrated!

"All who dare stand in my way will face damnation," Rose turned to them. "For I have become God!"

* * *

RUBY RAN her hands across a wall as she ran in the halls of the Temple, sending small amounts of fire into the symbols etched into the masonry that shifted erratically as Gaia energy sputtered out! Running alongside her was Peridot who fiddled with a small light mandala when the tremors caught up to them, causing Ruby to stumble forward. "Be careful, one mistake and we'll anger the spirits that reside in here!" Peridot yelled.

"Well, how long do I have to do this for? It's getting harder with all this damn shaking!" Ruby retorted.

"Hey, coding a new magical seal isn't a walk in the park, you know!" Peridot frowned. "I have to be careful too so we can stop this ritual. Now come on, we don't have time to lose!"

* * *

PRASIOLITE SKIDDED across the ground, grunting in pain as Amethyst, Lion and Connie drew closer to her and she spat out blood. She struggled to move as the three surrounded her when she saw Gaia Energy collect beneath her and rush into her body, giving her a boost of power! "Oh great, this shit again." Amethyst frowned.

"It's not over yet!" Prasiolite yelled and slammed her hand onto the ground, shattering the earth around them apart!

Connie, Lion and Amethyst were caught aback as they lost their footing and fell toward an endless abyss Prasiolite created, getting sucked into the earth! Acting quickly, Connie jumped off Lion and ran onto a falling rock, corkscrewing between two other boulders, and she took aim with her bow! She squinted as she looked through the collapsing debris below her and she fired through the millimeter wide space, impaling Prasiolite clean in the heart!

Lion dove down after Amethyst who plummeted below and caught her, sending out a shockwave with a powerful roar that destroyed the rocks between Connie and Prasiolite, clearing up her path! Taking her sword, Connie spring-boarded off a boulder in midair and sped up to Prasiolite, cutting her in half and shattering her shoulder gemstone instantly!

"Now, it's over." Connie frowned.

* * *

LAPIS GLIDED through the mist as it cut Ametrine, Aventurine and Jadeite from all sides and Sapphire's hailstorm that rained down from above, crafting a sword made of ice in her hands when a bright beam of light exploded out of the Temple up ahead, burning through the mist instantly! Sapphire looked to the light as it shone brightly, not noticing the three enemy Gems below drawing power from it as Gaia Energy vines spread under the Temple courtyard and drove into them!

"This isn't good." Lapis frowned.

"I couldn't have said it any better." Aventurine smirked as she erected a massive branch that impaled Lapis, driving her into the air as she created a gigantic tree out of nothing!

Sapphire frowned as she saw the blue woman skewered and the branch tear closer to the gemstone on her back, failing to see Ametrine below who shot a laser blast at her! Sapphire stumbled forward, feeling pain radiate from the hole burned into her stomach, and Jadeite appeared above her from behind and smashed her down into the ground!

At the Temple, Rose ascended through the beam of light, bathing in the stream of Gaia Energy that shot toward the sky and enjoying the sight of fractures tearing through the earth below! "This is too perfect!" She smiled when she saw Pearl and Steven flying toward her. "What a nuisance."

"We have to think of a way to kill her now, Steven, before it's too late." Pearl frowned.

Steven sifted his mind as he tried to think, unwilling to believe Pearl – there had to be a way to get through to Rose. As he thought, he saw Greg's pod hovering near Rose. "I'm going after him!" He flew up to it!

"Steven, stop, she's baiting you!" Pearl called out.

Steven sped up to Greg when Rose teleported up to him too fast for him to react and she grabbed his face, chucking him down and sending him burrowing deep into the ground below! Smiling at the resultant crater, she flew after the boy when Pearl rushed at her with her katana, locking blades as she quickly conjured a blade!

"I won't let you hurt him!" Pearl declared.

"Leave us, slave, your services are no longer needed." Rose frowned. "This is between mother and son."

"I've been more of a mother to him than you've ever been!" Pearl yelled and knocked her aside, sending her flying back!

Rose caught herself in midair, not expecting the strength she displayed, and Pearl rushed at her with a swing, getting instantly blown back as Rose shattered her sword with the flick of a wrist! Pearl fell back as Rose caused powerful winds from simply waving her arm and the pale woman retaliated, conjuring several hundred swords that she sent flying at Rose! The pink Gem cocked her neck as the barrage of blades came at her and she snapped her fingers, causing them to shatter to pieces!

On the ground below, Steven dragged himself out of a massive hole and coughed out blood as he came to the surface, pulling himself to his feet and looking to the skies as Pearl and Rose collided with each other. He frowned as pain rang in his ears when he saw Greg's pod floating off on its own. "Dad!" He quickly flew up.

Moving past Pearl and Rose's battle, the boy quickly came to the small vessel and saw his father unconscious inside. He looked around for a way to open the tiny ship, unable to recognize any of the wordings on its side and slowly giving in to panic. "Dad? Dad, can you hear me?" Steven called. "It's me, Steven!"

Steven's muffled voice moved through the glass and into the small space, meeting Greg's ears as his eyes slowly opened. "Steven?"

* * *

SEVERAL YEARS ago, twelve year old Greg and Marty sat on the shores of Beach City in the dead of night; the sounds of the crashing waves deadening the cold they felt as they sat there alone. The moon shone brightly over the two and Greg looked to the stars above, bending his knees to his chest as the glow enamored him.

"You ever think there's life out there?" Greg asked.

"What? Like aliens? Fuck no." Marty scoffed.

"How can you be so sure? Out of the planets out there, there's gotta be one like ours." Greg smiled. "I'm gonna go out there and meet one of our friends in the stars one day."

Marty frowned. "You've been reading too many comics again." He laid back on the sand. "This's all there is, Greg; there's nothing more out there for orphans like us." Greg sighed upon hearing this, unrelenting as he continued looking upward, his eyes burning with determination.

* * *

YEARS LATER, Greg in his late-teens pushed his way into a tiny room where Marty and three other guys lay passed out on a messy floor littered with cigarettes and beer bottles. He frowned as loud music blared on the stereo and he jerked back as three near-naked girls slid past him and out of the room, annoying him even more.

"Come on, you guys, is this what being in a band is about?" Greg tried to walk over a fallen suitcase.

"Hey, quiet down, you're talking too loud." One guy sat up, rubbing his head.

"Greg, you've gotta get off your high horse, man." Marty clumsily got to his feet. "We're popular and we've got bitches! Hook up with a groupie once in a while and chill the fuck out."

"I'm not doing that." Greg reached out and picked up a guitar. "Now, come on, our next shows in a few hours in the next town, so we gotta go." The others groaned.

* * *

GREG RUBBED his eyes and squinted as he tried to see past the wet windshield as he drove a truck in the dim early morning. He turned and saw his friends fast asleep in the back seat and he frowned to himself, reaching for a cigarette in his pocket. He reached for a lighter when a man crashed onto the car and fell onto the ground!

"What the hell!?" He slammed on the brakes, shaking the others awake.

"What? What? What happened!?" One guy yelled.

"Is it the cops? Cuz I swear I don't have any snow on me, I swear." Marty instinctively held his hands up.

"Something just fell on our car." Greg opened the door.

"Oh, so it was you who took my pearl yesterday, huh?" Marty said groggily.

Greg stepped out of the truck, completely ignoring the rain, and slowly inched toward the front of the vehicle to see a humanoid creature getting to its feet. He froze in surprise as he saw it, wincing as the others loudly stepped out to look for themselves. "Whoa, what is that thing?" One guy said.

"Shh, you don't wanna freak it out." Greg said quickly.

"Please, you need to help me! I'm from the Null Void and someone's after me!" The creature stood and turned to them, revealing its scarred slimy skin, muscular build and round eyeless face with a vertical mouth with jagged teeth!

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Greg's friend screamed and ran back to the truck.

"Hold on, we should help it." Greg moved toward the creature. "What should we call you?"

"Greg, we've gotta get outta here!" Marty opened one of the truck's doors.

"Marty, wait, maybe we could –," Greg tried to speak when the alien slashed his stomach with a long jagged spike that protruded from its arm, drawing out blood!

"Greg!" Marty yelled then quickly ducked as the monster spat out a ball of acid at him, letting the sludge hit his friend behind him!

Marty turned to see his friend writhing on the ground in agony and the monster cut him down with a spiked arm, stalking over him and going for the kill! "Stop!" Greg drew the alien's attention to him as he groggily got to his feet, covering his bleeding wound with his arm.

The beast growled as it turned to him, releasing several small spikes along its back when a laser blast shot it clean in the head, killing it instantly! Greg backed away as the alien fell dead and he turned to see a man in his twenties training a blaster and standing near his nearby hovering jet!

"Are you alright?" The man ran to Greg's side as he nearly fell over.

"W-who are you?" Greg asked.

"I'm here to help." The man replied, looking at Marty and his friend down on the ground and the other two guys cowering in fear inside the truck. "Here, take these; they'll help heal your wounds." He handed him three capsules from his pocket and headed for his ship.

"Wait, who are you?" Greg repeated. "How did you stop that thing? I wanna know how to do that too."

The strange man scrutinized the teenager before him, smiling at the determination her saw in his eyes. "I'm Max Tennyson," He finally replied and handed him a card. "Contact me with this number at a payphone and I'll tell you everything you need to know."

Greg received the card and read it, raising his brow. "A plumber?" He squinted his eyes as a bright light emanated from the jet as it rose into the air and blasted off into the distance, leaving him in the rain.

* * *

YEARS LATER, Greg looked at the same card he held in hand while he stood by a window inside a large plumber spaceship as it flew over a desert below. He looked at the card that'd worn out over time when he felt a hand on his shoulder that made him jump with a start. "Guess you forgot your training, huh?" Max chuckled.

"No, you didn't catch me off-guard, I totally expected that." Greg laughed nervously.

"Sure." Max crossed his arms. "You still got that card?"

"It's a souvenir from when I joined the Plumbers!" Greg took a heroic pose. "I want my grandkids to see it and be inspired."

"Sure thing, Star Man." Max headed for the cockpit, looking at the ship's coordinates as it piloted itself. "Now, look alive, we're about to deploy."

"It's hard to believe how hard Home World is pushing to invade earth." Greg looked at the sands below. "Look at what they did to this ocean."

"Those Lapis Lazuli machines are true monsters of technology." Max frowned. "But until we can figure out a way to stop them, we've got to free these alien refugees and send Home World packing."

"Roger that."

"Ship, take us down." Max said, receiving a beep from the ship's onboard computer.

The massive aircraft came to a slow descent on the dried ocean below and Max and Greg slowly disembarked the vessel as its doors slid open, shielding their faces from the strong winds as a sand storm slowly brewed. Greg clutched his sidearm as he carefully inched forward, trying to make his way through the thick haze when a large figure came lunging toward him!

Greg cried out in terror and quickly took aim when a large woman rushed between them and struck the Centipeetle in its side, sending it crashing into a rise nearby! The man panted in surprise as he saw the sand settle and he turned to see Rose rising to her feet behind him. "Whoa …" He said in awe.

"I'm sorry, are you hurt?" The pink Gem asked.

"N-no …" Greg said, trying to compose himself and gaining a chuckle from the woman.

"Hey, you must be the Plumbers I've heard of, right? We could use your help." Rose smiled.

"Uh, yeah, I'm with those guys." Greg cleared his throat.

"You amuse me, human." Rose stabbed her Sword into the ground, releasing a blinding light from her gemstone that spread over the entire desert!

The light receded and cleared the sandy winds, revealing a damaged battlefield as several Crystal Gems including Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet, and Lion fought an army of Centipeetles and defended humanoid aliens who fled the violence! "What are those things?" Greg readied himself.

"They're new gems from Home World." Rose frowned. "We can't defeat them while protecting these refugees."

"What do you mean?" Greg asked and he turned to see Garnet punch a hole into a Centipeetle only for it to split into two duplicates that crashed onto her!

Greg tried to think when Max sped past him on a jetpack, deftly avoiding spurts of acid a Centipeetle shot at him! Drawing out a laser rifle, the Plumber fired a massive beam at the monster, causing a massive explosion that nearly made Greg fall over! Max smiled as the smoke cleared, only to see several smaller Centipeetles in place of the original that dove into the sand and caused the earth to shake violently!

"Rose, we have to get out of here!" Pearl ran up to her. "Lion can bubble the refugees and beam them to safety, so there's no reason to keep fighting here."

"But we need to stop the Centipeetles or they'll just keep spreading." Rose explained.

Greg studied the battlefield and squinted as he saw a Centipeetle sniffle a trail of blood droplets toward Amethyst as she battled. Seeing this, he took out a dagger from his pocket and cut his arm, running off. "What in the world?" Pearl watched in confusion.

Greg activated his jetpack and flew over the battlefield, draining his blood near the Centipeetles and drawing their attention to him as he went into the distance. "Greg, what're you doing!?" Max called out.

Max stopped a few feet away from the Plumber ship, seeing that he'd gotten the Centipeetles to follow him, and he blasted a hole into the ground below, diving in head on! Max and the Gems watched in confusion as the man disappeared into the underground, waiting for something to happen when low shook the ground beneath their feet!

Dim lights came from the hole and Greg flew out quickly after. "Max, we've gotta go now!"

"What'd you …" Max cut himself off as he saw Greg's gun was damaged. "Everybody, get in the ship now!"

"What're you –," Amethyst tried to say when the ground shook violently! "Well, shit!" She ran off.

Rose, the Gems and the small group of refugees rushed into the ship after Max, Greg went in as well, looking out the window, and seeing lights shining through the sands as large fissures spread across the ground! Rose looked outside and watched in awe as a gigantic light explosion erupted out of the underground, burning a massive crater into the desert!

"What did you do …?" She asked.

"I damaged the core of my rifle and unloaded all my grenades." Greg grinned. "It's a last ditch effort and it worked." Rose smiled at the shorter man.

"That was some smart thinking there, Universe." Max walked up to the two.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Greg rubbed the back of his neck. "So, where do we take the refugees?"

"I have a suggestion." Rose said.

* * *

HOURS LATER, Max set the ship down on the shores of Beach City, coming upon the Temple set on the side off the mountain and opening the hangar doors. The Gems disembarked and were slowly followed by the refugees whom they led into the building. Greg and Max stepped out after the others and looked around in surprise as people sat on the beach completely indifferent to their presence.

"Well, that's a first." Greg said.

"Did you put a spell on them or something?" Max asked Rose who was behind them.

"No, they just assumed we were with a 'SHIELD', still don't know what that means, so we just played along." Rose said. "Your world and this city in particular are quite accommodating." She hovered toward the porch of the Temple. "Come with me."

Greg and Max followed the woman into the building, finding several other Gems inside attending to the refugees and tending to their wounds. They watched curiously as the women were hard at work rehabilitating them, seeing Pearl opening portals for some of them via the warp pad and sending them off world.

"Our efforts to fend off Home World have somewhat changed over time as we've come to know of what they've done to other planets and we've started helping those in need we come across." Rose said. "But regardless, we're still working to stop those monsters and bring them down. We won't let Home World invade the earth."

"Cool." Greg said simply.

"So, you're a Plumber, huh?" Amethyst walked up to Max.

"Yes, we work for the Amersian Government to protect the innocent, human and alien alike." Max said.

"Huh, why don't you tell me more?" Amethyst smiled and took his hand, leading him off.

Greg raised his brow as the two went off and he grunted in pain, looking down and realizing his arm was still bleeding through his makeshift bandage. "Crap."

"Oh my, I didn't realize you were still hurt." Rose led the man up to a nearby chair and spread her energy over his wound, healing it.

"No, no, you don't have to do that, I did this to myself." Greg said.

"Well, if it wasn't for your quick thinking, more people would've gotten hurt." Rose placed her hand on his arm as it healed. "It's the least I can do." Greg looked into the taller woman's eyes, smiling as he felt a warmth and kindness radiating from them.

Years passed and Greg and Max often came across the Crystal Gems as they travelled the globe trying to eradicate the gems from Home World. During that time, Greg and Rose drew closer as well and Greg started staying with the Gems in Beach City, getting married to Rose and having Steven.

* * *

SEVENTEEN YEARS ago, an infant Steven gurgled in Rose's arms as she and Greg sat at the porch one sunny afternoon. "You're going to be a strong little human when you grow up." Rose said softly.

"Yeah, and become a Plumber like your old man." Greg chuckled.

"Let's let him decide what he wants to be." Rose replied, holding the baby's tiny hands. "You can be anybody you wanna be, my little universe."

Inside the building behind them, Pearl and Garnet watched the two from the living room, the pale woman grumbling to herself as she stared at the child. "I hate him." Pearl said finally.

"Get over it Pearl, you were Rose's girlfriend for a while, but it's over now; move on." Garnet said. "Their offspring's a cute little thing, you have to admit."

"I was referring to the half-breed they're coddling; he disgusts me."

"Please." Garnet scoffed. "Jealousy's not a good look on you Pearl; it makes you a bad liar." Pearl remained upset, making Garnet roll her eyes. "Alright, let me put your hubris to rest."

"Huh?" Pearl looked up as the taller Gem went into the porch.

"I'm taking him." Garnet grabbed Steven and went back inside.

"Hey, wait," Greg said and the woman ignored her.

"Relax, she wouldn't hurt him." Rose chuckled.

"There." Garnet put Steven in Pearl's hands and walked off.

"Hey, what am I going to do with this thing?" Pearl held Steven far from her, frowning as the baby laughed.

Pearl squinted at Steven as she held him up by his small arms with her fingers, getting irritated as he blew a bubble with his drool and giggled as it popped. The woman groaned and placed him on the chair beside her, moving away and crossing her arms in anger. As she sat however, Steven crawled up to her and sat on her lap.

"No, no, you're supposed to stay over there." Pearl said quickly.

"Mama." The baby said.

"What? Oh, you're way beyond mistaken."

Steven curled up in the woman's lap and played with her sash, tugging at it and chewing on it, annoying her more. She moved to throw him off when she saw him start to nod off, redness forming in her cheeks as he fell asleep comfortably.

"I think I love him …" She ogled at the child.

"Told you." Garnet said from the kitchen, gaining a frown from Pearl.

Rose chuckled as she heard this from outside, rising from the bench and standing by the railing as she watched the oceans crash on the shore. "Heh, seems she just needed a little time with him, huh?" Greg walked up to Rose, seeing a solemn look on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just …" The pink woman sighed. "It's been a century since we rebelled against Home World and we're no closer to defeating them."

"Well, it's not like you've done nothing, right?" He said. "You've saved many people."

"But we haven't made a dent in Home World's forces." She countered. "For every hundred gems we take down, they have a thousand more and they just keep getting stronger."

"The Plumbers were founded decades ago and their fight to keep peace is still not over." Greg looked to the ocean. "Sometimes it all seems hopeless, but you only lose when you give up. We can win this fight, Rose."

Rose's expression grew blank. "I hope so …"

* * *

DAYS LATER, Greg moved across the halls of Plumber Headquarters, greeting an agent as he made his way through the building. He turned the corner and went up to th door to Archives when he found it damaged, instinctively pulling out his handgun and rushing into the room. He carefully stepped between the shelves that filled the area when he saw Rose pulling out a folder from a drawer up ahead! "Rose?"

Rose turned to the man and frowned, continuing to flip through the binder. "What're you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? This is a restricted area; you don't have clearance." Greg squinted as he looked at the number on the folder, his eyes widening in horror. "Gaia Energy? What're you doing?"

"I need to find a way to stop Home World once and for all." Rose said without looking at him.

"Using Gaia Energy would destabilize the earth and kill us all, Rose, put that folder away now!"

"I've already used Gaia Energy long before now, I already know the risks." Rose finally turned to him. "But the knowledge you have on it is amazing! With this, I could destroy the Diamonds single-handedly! Think about it."

"At what cost? The billions of human lives on earth? How would genocide be any different from what the Diamonds have done?" Greg moved up to her.

"We have fought the Diamonds for centuries and look at us; the Crystal Gems have been cut in half and they only keep getting stronger." Rose sighed. "I'm out of options."

"Rose, please, listen to me; you don't want to do this." Greg said. "We can figure something out and put a stop to them. With SHIELD's Avengers Initiative, we could take the war to Home World after we clear out their soldiers here."

Rose shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait any longer." She bubbled the folder and beamed it away. "I must go."

"What? Where?" Greg frowned.

"I knew you'd disagree with this and I can't be held back." Rose said. "The Gems would agree with you with how much they've integrated with humans, so I must leave them behind as well."

"Rose, please, you have to rethink this; you can't abandon them." Greg walked up to her. "What about our son?"

Rose paused as he said this, looking up to him with grief in her eyes. "Take care of Steven for me, Greg."

"Rose!"

"I'm sorry." Rose vanished, leaving Greg behind confused.

* * *

IN THE PRESENT, Pearl fell from the sky and crashed on the ground, skidding to a stop beside Helio who sat at Jasper's side and watched over her as she was under the healing sphere. Pearl looked up as her clones distracted Rose above and she pulled herself to her feet, moving up to him. "Why is she still under? What's going on?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know; Jasper's revived from far worse injuries before." Helio replied.

"… How's the child?" Pearl asked.

Helio placed a hand on Jasper's stomach and sighed. "He's fine, luckily the stab missed him by a few inches." He rose to his feet. "This doesn't make any sense; it's like there's something stopping her from healing."

Pearl frowned as it hit her. "It's Rose! She's slowed her regeneration!"

"That's impossible, only a Diamond has that kind of power."

"Then it means …" Shivers went down Pearl's spine as she looked up to the pink gem as she decimated her duplicates. "She's as strong as a Diamond now."

Rose pushed back Pearl's clones with telepathic force, moving in to attack them when she heard Steven's voice nearby, seeing him with Greg. "No." She flew up to them.

"Dad, dad!" Steven banged against Greg's pod, seeing the man inside slowly awaken. "Dad, can you hear me?!"

"Steven? Steven!" Greg shot up and reached for the glass when his ship suddenly flung back.

"Dad!" Steven called out as Rose summoned the pod to her side. "What did you do to him? I saw him die!"

Rose chuckled. "Why don't you tell him, sweetheart?" She turned to Greg. "It's not like any of you will be alive for much longer."

Greg sighed. "When we separated after Home World attacked Beach City, I took out the Bloodstone and healed myself with a special serum the Plumbers use that heals any wound, but shortens your lifespan when they're about to die."

"You're a plumber?" Steven raised his brow. "I thought you worked at the car wash."

"That was a front – the Plumbers are a secret government agency meant to protect earth against alien threats." Greg said. "I told the Gems to keep this from you so you could have a normal life, but clearly that was impossible."

"When he escaped, he confronted me with some of his plumber friends and tried to stop my plans." Rose interjected. "Had he come with Max Tennyson's grandson he would have succeeded, but he had the gull to think mere humans could stop me." She chuckled. "I've kept him as a souvenir from who I used to be and I found out from his past memories that he lied to you all about me leaving. What kind of parent are you, Greg?"

Grief filled Greg's face. "I'm sorry, Steven, I kept a lot from you so you could have a normal life and I shouldn't have. I wanted you to have what I didn't growing up; to have a memory of your mother that wasn't marred by what she became." He placed his hand on the glass. "I'm so sorry Steven."

"How pointless." Rose clenched her fist, telepathically suffocating Greg inside the vessel!

"Stop it!" Steven yelled.

"You've all failed me." Rose frowned. "Once I'm done with you Steven, I'll kill your father and dispose of him – he's of no use to me now."

A deep purple aura exploded out of Steven's body and engulfed the wasteland for several meters around him, drawing the attention of Amethyst, Connie, Sapphire, Lapis, Ruby and Peridot as he darkened the entire area! Rose backed up as she felt his power fill the air and she frowned as the moon began to dim in comparison to a bright light that emanated from his body!

"Amazing." Rose grinned. "You've unleashed the cosmic power I imbued in you when you were born!"

Rising from the darkness, Steven hovered before Rose in white energy that matched a raging glow in his eyes. "This ends now, mom!" He waved his arm, dismissing the purple aura that shrouded the area in darkness! "You'll die for what you've done!"


	18. Gaia Ch9 - Goodbye

**GOODBYE**

RAGE BURNED through Steven's glowing white eyes as he stared down Rose who hovered in the sky above. Rose smiled excitedly as she saw this, her breath baited as she thought of how she could use his power to her advantage when Steven suddenly vanished!

"What?" Rose squinted and looked around when Steven appeared in front of her and impaled her with a photon spear he conjured!

Rose spat out blood as the blade drove through her and Steven dismissed the weapon, striking her hard in the head with a kick that hurtled her down into the face of a mountain below! Pearl watched in concern as Steven chased after Rose, then frowned as she felt the earth shake beneath her, turning her attention to Jasper who lay nearby.

Rose pushed broken boulders aside as she emerged from the hole in the mountain, quickly healing her wound and tensing up as Steven flew at her. She summoned her shield and prepared to defend herself when she felt the wind get knocked out of her as an invisible force hit her in the gut and carved her further into the rocks!

Steven flew over the Gem as he overwhelmed her with a telepathic barrage and he shot down toward her, grabbing her face and smashing her onto the ground! He stood over her and charged energy through his fist when Rose knocked him back with a powerful aura that burst out of her body, summoning magic circles in her hands and conjuring four light cannons around her that fired a torrent of laser blasts at him!

Steven sped downward, cutting through the lasers like nothing, and he coated his fists in energy, teleporting behind the pink Gem and punching her in the back, driving her deep into the ground! He dove into the hole and made chase as Rose fell through the soil, catching herself and summoning Gaia vines that sped toward Steven like roots!

Cranking his arm back, Steven chucked an energy ball with a punch, burning through the photon tendrils and creating explosions above ground that tore through the earth! Amethyst, Connie and Lion watched over Prasiolite's body on the surface, wondering whether she was still alive when they saw the series of eruptions barreling up to them, barely getting out of the way in time to see Rose blown into the air by the blasts and Steven flying after her!

"Steven?" Connie raised her brow and chased after the two with Amethyst and Lion following her.

Rose steadied herself in midair and saw the boy charging at her, conjuring an energy mace that she swung at him! Steven smacked the weapon aside and punched her in the stomach with so much force that it sent out powerful shockwaves that nearly blew the Gems off their feet hundreds of meters below!

Steven grabbed Rose by her hair and smashed his knee into her face, drawing blood, and he spun her around by one arm, flinging her to the earth below! Seeing her crash to the earth, the boy screamed out in rage and raised his arms to the sky, forming a gigantic sphere of energy several meters wide from his palms that outshone the moon and caused an intense heat around him!

Shrinking the energy into a small ball in his right hand, Steven flew after Rose and shoved the blast into her gut, driving her into the earth and causing a gigantic explosion that went several feet into the air! Connie, Amethyst and Lion stopped as the blast spread out toward them and were knocked back by the aftershock, sending them flying back!

Rose spat out blood and coughed severely as the smoke diminished around them, Steven rising to his feet and standing over her as the two were inside a huge crater. The woman wheezed as her dress was torn apart and her body was covered in cuts and burns, trying to get her bearings when Steven grabbed her by the hair, holding her head up and clenching his free hand into a fist.

Rose opened her eyes to see Steven go for the finishing blow and the Gem slammed her hand onto the ground, summoning an energy tube that stabbed him in the back! Steven stumbled forward and moved to rip out the vine when the tube yanked him back, driving further into him and drawing out blood, throwing him aside like a ragdoll!

"Enough games." Rose smirked. "This world is mine."

Rose stumbled forward and placed her palms on the ground, drawing three tubes of Gaia Energy that impaled her spine, pouring the energy of the earth into her! Steven skidded to a stop and frowned as Rose slowly ascended into the air, gaining more power and slowly increasing several feet in size!

Pearl and Helio watched from afar as the Gem became a giant, the pale woman stepping back as her pressure made the air heavy. "This is insane." Pearl's eyes dilated in shock. "She's become unstoppable."

"Not quite." A voice said.

Pearl turned to where the voice came from and smiled. "Sasuke, you're awake!"

Sasuke creaked his neck. "Well, I wouldn't say I got much sleep, but I suppose it'll do."

"What're you talking about? How do you plan on defeating her with the power she has?" Helio asked.

Sasuke walked ahead of them. "Just step back." He created distance between them and thrust his arm forward, opening his Rinnegan. "Chibaku-Tensei!"

Rose laughed evilly as she grew larger and larger, feeling the energy flooding into her as she ascended and shone brightly in the sky! She looked on at Steven who studied her and she opened her palm to summon a weapon when she felt a sudden force compress around her and caused her limbs to buckle up! The ground below began to break up and large rocks rose up and flew toward the Gem, collecting rapidly and cocooning her into a gigantic sphere of earth!

Opening his Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke forged a powerful aura around his body that transformed and shaped into an ethereal ribcage that hoisted him into the air as it further turned into a massive skeleton over a hundred feet in height! The Shinobi held his arm forward and the outer-skeleton mimicked his movement, creating an armor of pure energy that wrapped around the giant avatar and completed its transformation!

"This is the Susanoo!" Sasuke cried out as he drew out his sword, channeling energy through the aura armor and creating a gigantic blade that spanned several miles!

The Susanoo towered high above the mountain range as it eyed its surroundings and it turned its attention to Rose who was trapped in the small planetoid. Grabbing its energy blade with both arms, the Aura Samurai poured more energy into the blade, sending tremors through the ground and causing the stars in the sky to darken as it shone brightly through its display of power!

Sasuke moved his blade forward and directed the Susanoo to swing its sword toward Rose, breaking apart the ground to pieces as it drove the ethereal weapon toward the planetary ball! The sword met the rock and cut through it cleanly when a wave of energy burst out of the sphere as Rose broke out of her binds, shattering the sword and shredding one of the Aura Samurai's arms like they were nothing!

"Impossible!" Sasuke staggered back and reformed the armored titan around him. He froze as the Gem blazed with energy in the sky up ahead, her power beginning to distort reality as the air around her started to crack like glass!

"I told you, I am God!" Rose proclaimed and snapped her hand shut, conjuring several vines that wrapped around the Susanoo and manacled it instantly! She moved over the earth and frowned as she eyed Steven and the Gems below, holding her hand forward. "I was mistaken to think the earth needed a Savior, a Protector; it's clear to me now that this world is full of sinners that'd dare oppose me! This world needs to be cleansed!"

Pearl looked around as an earthquake swept the valley and was instantly held in place as several Gaia vines burst out and one of them wrapped around her! Helio frowned as this happened and turned to see the healing sphere around Jasper break apart as tubes coiled around the unconscious Gem. "Jasper!" He cried out and tried to reach for her when a tendril held him down as well!

Rose smiled as Steven and the Gems below were held down and she held her arms out as a massive Gaia Energy tube emerged out of the ground when the tube suddenly wrapped around her and bound her as well! "What in the world!?" Rose frowned as the photon vine began to pull her toward the earth!

A small explosion erupted nearby and out of the ground came Ruby who piggybacked Peridot as they dug their way out of the collapsed temple. "Ha! We made it!" The green girl smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for helping me break through several tons of rock!" Ruby frowned.

"You're welcome there buddy." Peridot got off the red woman who grumbled in anger and she looked around, seeing Rose being dragged down up above and the energy vines around slowly break down. "Aha! It worked!"

"What did you do!?" Rose demanded.

"Well, it's quite simple actually; I altered the ritual you performed." Peridot began. "With a small change to the conditions of your blood contract, I severally shortened the time you had before you had to fulfill your end of the bargain to the Gaia Spirits that inhabited the earth's core, and now they want your soul."

"Why you –," Rose thrust her arm out at her and grunted as the vine yanked her back and began to drain the energy from her body, slowly returning her to her normal size!

"You played a dangerous game dealing with parasitical spirits that feed on energy, and I thought, why not give those greedy bastards what they want and let them have your soul a few decades early." Peridot crossed her arms. "And just like coding, I simply changed a one to a zero and stopped the ritual."

"Hey, I was part of the plan too!" Ruby yelled.

"Yeah, she was part of the plan too." Peridot stated, annoying the red woman.

Rose chuckled and grabbed an energy vine, drawing energy from it again! "Your foolishness will be your undoing!" She tore the tube in half! "The Gaia Spirits are far beneath me! And if they want to oppose me, they'll fall like all the rest!"

Connie watched as the Gem began to break free from her binds and she sifted her mind, running into the fray. "Connie, what're you doing?" Amethyst called out.

The girl ran up to the vine that held Rose down and she coated her arms in Gaia Energy, thrusting her hands into the photon stream and creating more tendrils that wrapped around the Gem! Steven watched in awe as Connie directed the massive tube down to the ground, pulling Rose down with it! Connie began to pant as Rose was dragged down when the Gem grabbed her neck, causing her to let go of the vines!

"I won't let anyone get in my way; the Diamonds will pay for what they've done!" Rose yelled as she choked the girl.

"Connie!" Steven flew toward her when Rose's stomach burst out, spraying blood all around. "What the?"

Rose gasped and looked forward to see that a hand stabbed through her stomach and held her gemstone out of her body, letting go of Connie and realizing who had impaled her. "Jasper …?" She looked back to see the orange Gem standing behind her.

"I'm sorry, Rose." Jasper said, setting her down as she felt the life drain out of her sister's body.

"D-don't do this …" Rose pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. "We have to s-stop the …. Diamonds …"

Jasper held Rose's face with her free hand and crushed her gemstone with the other, killing her sister. Jasper placed Rose's body on the ground and stepped back as the energy vines wrapped around her body, pulling her deeper into the soil. The orange gem watched as the vines receded and Steven ran up to her, freezing up as he saw Rose slowly disappear into the soil, her face being the last he saw of her as she submerged completely.

Pearl, Helio, Sapphire, Ruby, Peridot, Amethyst, Lapis, Lion and Sasuke drew closer as Steven stood and quietly watched the mound of soil where Rose once was. Connie remained behind as she saw the boy remain silent, unsure of what to say to him when Pearl went up to Steven and placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling his emptiness as he didn't react at all to her.

A solemn silence fell across the valley as the Gaia Energy receded and Rose's grave disappeared when lights began to glimmer from the earth all around them! Steven stirred as he saw this and his eyes widened as a rose slowly sprouted out of the ground, followed by several other flowers that rapidly germinated and started to fill the valley!

Tears went down Pearl's face as she recognized the plants that began to grow all around. "Rose …!" She said shakily, covering her mouth as she began to weep.

"It's like the garden she planted on Home World long ago…" Sapphire realized.

"I remember this…" Jasper said finally.

Steven looked around as a massive garden quickly filled the once barren valley, filling the area with a wide array of flowers and trees that created a forest twice as beautiful as the one that stood before. He squinted as this happened, unsure of how to feel when he suddenly felt Rose's presence sweep past him as wind blew and cast flower petals into the night sky up ahead.

Steven clenched his fists shakily as tears went down his face, seeing the garden of roses standing at his feet. "Goodbye, mom…"

* * *

DAYS LATER, Amethyst, Jasper, Helio, Lapis, Finn, Jake and Wendy sat at a counter having a meal at a bar in Breakfast Kingdom in the morning. "Whoa! You fought a god!" Jake shot out of his seat with shock on his face.

"Yeah, she was a pain to defeat honestly." Amethyst sat back and drank a beer.

"I don't think it's such a good idea to drink this early." Finn noted.

"Ah, whatever – morning, afternoon, night, I drink when I want." The purple woman took a large gulp.

"Are you sure you're okay, Amethyst? I mean, I thought Rose meant a lot to you guys." Lapis asked.

"Well, yeah, but I let go of her long ago honestly." Amethyst said and sat up. "I thought she died and then I find out that all I knew about her was a lie, I say good riddance!"

Lapis squinted, unsure if she believed her when she heard Jasper laughing beside her. "That's the spirit, Amethyst, fuck that bitch!" The orange gem chugged down Scotch from a bottle.

"Jasper, are you sure you should be drinking?" Helio asked.

"Hey, hey, don't think just because we're in public that I won't fuck you right here and now." Jasper draped her arm over his shoulder and burped. "You're looking pretty fuckable right now."

"Alright, alright." Helio backed off and Jasper laughed hysterically.

"Uh, I thought you're not supposed to drink when you're having a kid." Lapis said.

"This's how she grieves." Helio explained. "Leave her be."

"Man, we missed everything." Finn crossed his arms and sulked. "I wanted to fight a god."

"Don't worry, man, at least we got the bounty!" Jake grinned as he shook a sack of gold he had in hand.

"From how powerful Rose sounded like, you'd have fucking died if you fought her, Finn." Wendy said.

"Hey, I can hold my own against a god." Finn retorted.

"Not one that strong."

"Can too." Finn frowned.

"If you say so." Wendy stirred her coffee.

* * *

RUBY POCKETED her hands as she stood on a sidewalk and watched at the townspeople of Oval Town mingle with those of Breakfast Kingdom, amused by how uniquely different they looked from the humans she'd seen before. She leaned on a lamppost and glanced to her right, seeing Sapphire descending from the sky. "Hey, Ruby." The blue woman said.

"Oh, Sapphire." Ruby said, moving up to her. "Where're the others?"

"They're eating at a diner." The blue woman explained, landing beside her.

"You're not hungry either, huh?" Ruby asked.

"No, not really." Sapphire looked into the street, sifting her mind. "Ruby, I … about earlier –,"

"I told you, Sapphire, it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am." Ruby turned to her. "I understand the choice you had to make; I'm not mad, honestly."

Sapphire looked around. "But … what about us?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked and looked into her eye, realizing what she meant. "Oh …"

"I'll understand whatever decision you make, I just …" Sapphire walked up to her and held her hand. "I just wanted to know if we're still together."

Ruby pulled her hand away from hers and tried to think, sighing finally. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Oh …" Sapphire looked to the ground.

"I –," Ruby paused. "It's not you; I just need to find myself again." She explained. "We've become very different people since we met on Home World and I've realized how much of myself I put away when we became Garnet. And now that I know that you're … you, I …"

"I understand." Sapphire replied. "I should've told you the truth before, but we're here now."

Ruby looked to Sapphire for a bit and pulled her in, placing her lips against hers and kissing her softly. She stepped back and held her hand. "I love you, Sapphire – I still care about you and I'm not leaving the Gems … but I need to take my life in a different direction." She let go of her. "Goodbye, Sapphire." The red woman walked off, leaving the blue woman to think.

* * *

GEN SAT on a bench elsewhere in the city, holding a small sack in his hands and withholding tears as he felt the ashes inside. He sighed and saw Pearl walking up to him, quickly putting the bag aside and standing up. "Oh, Pearl, you're back." He said.

"Yes, we had a lot to deal with." Pearl replied and looked around. "Looks like your people have settled down."

"Yeah, King Waffle allowed us to stay here for as long as we need and offered to help us rebuild the town." Gen explained. "He's a kind man."

"That's good to hear." Pearl said, her expression falling slightly as she continued. "Gen, I just came to tell you that we're leaving."

"Really?" Gen raised his brow.

"We came looking for a way to get to Home World and we didn't find it here, so we have to keep moving." Pearl said. "Now that your people are safe, there's nothing more for us to do."

Gen huffed and nodded. "Very well, I won't hold you back here then." He held his hand out to her. "Thank you for everything, my people wouldn't be here without you and the Gems helping us." He smiled wistfully. "I'm going to miss you, Pearl."

Pearl looked into Gen's eyes as he offered to shake her hand and she moved up to him, kissing him and holding his face with both hands tenderly. She pulled back and blushed, running a finger through her hair. "Heh, sorry about that."

"No, it was –," Gen cleared his throat and looked around.

She stared into his eyes once more and shook herself out of it, clumsily pulling out a black disk with a red symbol on its front from her pocket and placing it in his hand. "Here, use this to contact me while I'm gone." She said. "J-just use the red button."

"Oh, cool." Gen analyzed the card then looked up to see her walking away hurriedly. "How does it work –,"

"Goodbye, Gen." Pearl said hastily, leaving Gen chuckling slightly.

* * *

SAPPHIRE RUBBED her arms as she flew across Breakfast Kingdom, trying to get her head off what'd happened and focusing on the task at hand. She came to a hill on the outskirts and descended, looking around and waiting when Sasuke appeared beside her.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"No, just a thing with a friend." Sapphire avoided the topic. "How's the forest?"

"The decay seems to have subsided since Rose's demise and her garden's quickly replaced the forest." Sasuke said. "I'm sorry about what happened with Rose."

"No, it's alright." Sapphire replied. "We all make our choices."

"Well, I'll continue my investigation until I'm sure Gaia Energy doesn't resurface elsewhere." He said. "I have to thank you Gems for your aid in the situation; it was invaluable."

"No, you're the one we should thank." She countered. "Oval Town would be destroyed if you hadn't stepped in."

"I suppose." Sasuke began to walk away. "I have to say, you're more than I expected you to be – Daisy Johnson was right about you."

"Wait, you're working with SHIELD?" Sapphire realized and the Shinobi vanished.

* * *

STEVEN AND Connie stood in a small hospital room as Doctor Princess checked on Greg's vitals as he lay unconscious in bed. "Is he going to be alright?" Connie asked.

"He should be." The Doctor turned to them. "It'll take a while for all his injuries to heal, but we did our best."

"What was wrong with him exactly?" Steven asked.

"Well, he took an experimental healing serum to fix his broken spine, but it was a temporary solution." She began. "Without a proper medical evaluation afterward, he was unaware of the other injuries he'd sustained." She noticed the worry in the boy's eyes. "But don't worry, he should be fine soon; it should take only a few days before he wakes up."

Steven and Connie listened to the Doctor's explanation and they remained behind for a bit, watching over the man who lay connected to machines and IVs. After a while, they stepped out of the hospital into the street, Connie becoming concerned as Steven had been silent the whole time. "Steven, are you okay?" She asked finally.

Steven looked out, seeing a family chatting through the window of a shop across the street and sighing. "I don't know …" He frowned. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"It's okay, Steven, you don't –,"

"I wanted to kill my mom." He turned to her, clenching his fist. "I was going to kill her – what kind of person does that make me?"

Connie saw the confusion in his eyes. "We have to make tough choices sometimes and I can't tell you whether it was the right one or not." She continued. "When we left Beach City, I told you my parents let me come along, but I lied. I wanted to come with you so I could find out who I could be; I knew there was so much more out there I had to discover." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's still more out there for you too, and I'll be with you whatever it may be."

Steven looked to the family across the street and thought for a bit, sighing. "I need to go."

"Huh? Where?" She asked as he walked off.

"I don't know who I am anymore, Connie." Steven said. "All this time I've fought for the Gems and I thought my mom was this great hero and that was a giant lie. I need to find myself, and I don't know when I'll be back."

Connie tried to argue, but cut herself off. "I understand …"

Steven saw the worry in her eyes and moved up to her, embracing her. "I'm sorry about all of this; I didn't think would end up so bad when you'd join us."

"No, it's not your fault." Connie held him. "I don't regret any of it."

Steven smiled and stepped away from Connie, ascending into the air. "Take care of the Gems for me."

"Sure." Connie chuckled and watched Steven as he shot off and disappeared into the sky.

* * *

PERIDOT TIGHTENED a bolt in the engine of the Carwash RV, frowning as a rabbit hopped onto the radiator. "Come on, Pooky, you're gonna get hurt." She picked up the rodent and giggled as it fidgeted in her grip, turning to see Pearl, Greg, Sapphire, Amethyst, Jasper, Helio, Lapis, Ruby and Lion walk up to her on the beachfront. "Oh hey, you came!" Peridot smiled.

"So, this's where you've been this past week." Jasper noted.

"Oh, hey, how's Lion? Did you manage to break the silence curse on him?" Peridot asked.

"Unfortunately, it seems to be the type that persists even after the caster dies." Pearl explained. "Sapphire and I spent days trying to break it, but to no avail."

"We can only communicate with him telepathically for now, but even that's still a challenge." Sapphire said, looking at the Gem who sat by himself a few feet away. "He lost a lot of his power and a lot more because of the curse; we can only hope to find a way to free him soon."

"Oh, okay." Peridot looked at Lion.

"What'd you call us here for?" Amethyst asked Peridot then raised her brow as she finally saw that the RV had a different paintjob. "What'd you do?"

"My baby!" Greg cried out in horror and ran up to the vehicle.

"Oh, hey there, Steven's dad, you recovered from surgery." Peridot said. "Don't tell me you have amnesia now – oh wait, that's after a coma." She tapped her forehead. "Got my earth drama tropes mixed up again."

"What'd you do to her?" Greg asked.

"Well, I upgraded her so she could be ready for space travel." Peridot shut the hood of the vehicle, giggling as Pooky sniffed her ear. "I replaced the engines, added artificial gravity and added a spatial distorter so there's more room on the inside than there actually is." She put her hands on her hips smugly. "Home World's tech isn't only good for combat."

"Okay, but why did you do that?" Pearl asked.

"Well, I detected Home World transmissions in our star system, so Home World's most likely coming to earth again." Peridot said.

"What!?" Amethyst eyes dilated in horror.

"You can't be serious." Ruby frowned.

"My RV!" Greg wailed and hugged the side of the vehicle.

"I guess we don't have time to waste." Jasper stepped forward. "We have to take the battle to Home World, now!"

"Wait, we're just gonna go right now? How're we gonna face the Diamonds by ourselves?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, can't we at least call the Avengers to help us or something?" Amethyst suggested.

"No can do." Lapis replied. "I'd hacked SHIELD's databases when we'd invaded Beach City and the Avengers are spread out tight trying to keep the peace. We're doing this ourselves."

"I've prepared for this for centuries and I've amassed armies on several worlds." Jasper grinned proudly. "There's no way we can lose!"

"Uh, are we sure we should be fighting them so soon?" Helio asked, pointing at her slight baby bump. "You won't be combat ready."

"I'll have delivered by then – it only takes three months and that's exactly how long it'll take to reach Home World, and what matters right now is taking the Diamonds down!" Jasper grinned.

"Hell no, we're staying here until you've given birth, 'cuz I'm ain't no fucking midwife." Amethyst walked off.

"Oh, you're gonna be a midwife!" Jasper chased after her.

"No, leave me alone!" Amethyst yelled as the taller Gem grabbed her. "This's harassment! This's harassment!" She clawed against the ground as Jasper dragged her away. "I don't wanna touch a pussy!"

Pearl groaned as the two ran about. "This's gonna be a long trip."

"Yup." Sapphire deadpanned.

* * *

MEANWHILE IN outer space, White Diamond walked around her laboratory aboard her gigantic space ship, eyeing several specimens that floated in containment chambers in the large room when a door slid open behind her and an Agate walked in. "My Diamond, we just got word; our scanners showed that Rose Quartz's energy signature has disappeared from the star system." The Gem said. "She is dead."

"Very well, leave." White Diamond said and the Gem exited the room, leaving her to ponder. "Hmm, her energy level vastly surpasses ours and she suddenly dies? She must've taken part in a failed ritual or something. No matter." She walked toward two forth-dimensional cubes that housed two women that were unconscious. "We'll be ready if anything like that ever happens again, won't we, my Saiyan pets?"

* * *

**And there you have it, the end of the second arc!**

**The next arc, titled Home World, will be the final in this series and starts in the next chapter. Thanks for reading**


	19. Home World Ch1 - Welcome Home

* * *

Welcome to the Universe! It's taken time to plan this out and we're finally at the finale of the Steven Universe Shattered Trilogy! I

We've made several changes to the lore and characters since the beginning and now that it feels like our own unique spin on the Steven Universe story, we're happy to finally take the characters to a definitive final place in their arcs.

* * *

**Welcome Home**

JASPER'S MASSIVE bat-shaped spaceship zoomed through space, moving past planet after planet that showed no signs of life. It had been three years since they embarked on their journey, though they were unsure of how much time had passed on earth, and they were drawing closer on their destination: Home World.

The orange gem in question, former Commander under White Diamond, walked through the main living quarters of the ship where Connie, who was now 18, Ruby, Sapphire, Lapis, Amethyst and Lion sat by the windows of the vessel, and made her way to the cockpit. Waiting for the door to slide open, she stepped into the pilot's chambers where Peridot and Greg commandeered the ship, glancing at the small holo-map on the dashboard between the two.

"How far off are we?" Jasper asked.

"Just about a few minutes," Peridot answered without looking at her. "We're receiving life signals from a planet nearby so it's gotta be it."

"I wonder why there's been no life for the past week since we entered this star system." Greg said.

"It's probably because the inhabitants fled from the Diamonds or were killed off by them." Jasper said.

"Well, let's hope it's the former." Peridot shivered. "It'd be unnerving if they could clear out so many civilizations just like that."

"I suppose." Jasper headed out of the room. "I'll tell the others we'll be arriving shortly."

Greg glanced back as the door shut and he turned to Peridot. "Hey, can I pilot the ship now?"

"No."

"Oh, c'mon, it'll only be for a few minutes."

"You want us to simply crash on Home World? I can't trust you on this." Peridot said.

"Hey, I was a Plumber once." Greg frowned.

"Yeah, once, a very long time ago and you barely remember anything." Peridot said. "You don't even know how to initiate a hyper jump."

"Come on, it's getting boring just sitting here doing nothing."

"I said no!" Peridot shut him down, aggravating the man who sat back and frowned.

* * *

PEARL LOOKED around as she walked the streets of Oval Town alongside Gen, smiling as she saw the rebuilt houses on either side of the cobblestone road and people moving past her. She looked to where the Oval used to be and was in awe at the statue of Mira that stood in its place, seeing the flowers resting at its feet and a small crowd of people paying their respects.

"I can't believe you rebuilt so quickly." She said.

"The Breakfast Kingdom works pretty fast – I'm surprised their food based materials actually make strong buildings." Gen said.

"It looks magnificent." She turned to him. "What did you do about the garden that Rose left behind?"

"It was a tough decision, but the people decided to simply leave it be." Gen explained. "To our surprise, it radiates with Gaia Energy as well and it helped the forest regrow."

"I guess Rose really was connected to the earth, for better or worse." Pearl looked to the forest in the outskirts of the small town.

"So, where are you now? Have you found what you're looking for?"

"We're close to Home World now, I can feel it." Pearl paused for a bit. "Whether I'm ready or not, we'll just have to see I guess."

"Well, just stay safe, alright."

"I'll come back as soon as I can, I promise." Pearl held his hand.

Gen tried to speak when Pearl vanished, leaving a slight trail of light on his hand where she last touched. Their connection was slipping the more time passed and the space between their talks was widening, making him wonder if one day they wouldn't see each other again.

In Jasper's ship, Pearl sighed as the holographic projector in the middle of her quarters disconnected, moving over and turning it off entirely.

* * *

CONNIE LOOKED out the window in the ship's main area, astounded by how different space looked depending on which area you're in or how far from a star you were. "So, we're finally heading to Home World, huh? I'm not sure I'm ready honestly."

"Heh, I know I am." Amethyst, who sat across her, stretched back in her seat.

"Sure, except I beat you yesterday in sparring practice."

"You beat me? Bullshit!"

"Bitch, I beat your ass and your know it!" Connie smirked.

"Yeah, and you lost the other day." Amethyst retorted.

"True, I admit that."

"I guess it's a tie then." Amethyst crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but one day you won't be able to match me."

"We'll see about that, kid." Amethyst chuckled.

Connie laughed then paused for a bit, her mood souring. "It's too bad Steven isn't here for this though."

"He hasn't contacted you yet?"

"He didn't leave me any way to in the first place." Connie said. "I just hope he's okay wherever he is."

"Well, I say good riddance; he can stay gone if he wants!" Ruby, who sat on the other side of the room with Sapphire across from her, yelled.

"You were just complaining about how you missed him this morning." Sapphire said, keenly reading her book.

Ruby scoffed. "Surprised you even heard me while reading that crap."

"She's still reading hentai?" Connie asked.

"She hasn't put it down since yesterday." Ruby said.

"You know that stuff will rot your brain, right?"

"I can't believe she won't share any with me." Amethyst said. "Though I coulda just used my phone, but it doesn't work so far away from earth."

"Why do you even read that anyway?" Connie asked Sapphire.

"I don't know." Sapphire shut the book. "I don't even find it arousing, but I'm still interested anyway."

"Yeah, you're just a pervert."

"You got that right; sex with her was always the kinkiest shit." Ruby laughed. "Rarely happened though since we were almost always fused."

"Ugh, I don't wanna hear about that." Connie cringed.

"And neither do I." Jasper said as she walked into the room. "Stay focused on the task at hand; we're here."

"Whoa, we are?" Connie got up and followed her as she headed into the cockpit.

"Yeah, we are." Peridot said as she heard Jasper, Connie and the others enter, standing up and gesturing to the window. "Welcome home!"

Connie's eyes dilated in awe as she took in the magnificent large purple planet adorned by the light of the nearby sun, amazed at the shimmering lights on the surface of the planet and the many interconnected asteroids that floated around it. "It's so beautiful."

"I wouldn't be so taken by its appearance." Pearl said as she entered. "It's a heartless rock I have no fond memories of."

"Well, it does look amazing." Greg said.

"I've had some fond memories from growing up with Rose." Jasper said with a sigh.

"This's your mother's home, Blood Quartz." Helio, who Connie didn't see when she came in, said to a dark-red skinned toddler gem garbed in black clothing and a black breathing apparatus who stood beside him. "What do you think?"

Blood looked to the planet and slowly moved up to the window wordlessly, stopping beside Jasper and holding his hands up to her. Smiling, the orange gem picked the child up. "I wonder if this's the first and last he'll ever see of this place."

"Why does he have to wear that all the time?" Connie gestured to the child.

"Gem children have trouble breathing in their first years of life, so that helps filter the air for them." Pearl said.

Jasper nuzzled Blood and moved over to Helio, handing the child to him. "Take him to his chambers; he shouldn't get caught up in this."

"Sure." Helio took Blood and stepped out of the room.

"Aw, the kid's adorable!" Greg said, getting a glare from Jasper that sent shivers up his spine.

"Alright, let's prepare for our descent." Peridot returned to her seat, turning to Jasper. "Where do you want to land, chief?"

"Take us to Region –,"

"This an emergency! Repeat, this is an emergency! Requesting immediate backup to the Third Home World Sleeper Outpost!" A male voice came on the ship's computer.

"Who's that?" Connie asked.

"It's one of my soldiers." Jasper said, rushing to the control panel and pressing a button. "This's Commander Jasper, what's your status?"

"J-Jasper? Commander, we're under attack!" The man said in a panic.

"What's happening?"

"The M –," Static interrupted the line. "Home World is –,"

The transmission cut. "Soldier?" Jasper asked. "Lieutenant Grey Topaz, what's happening?"

"Uh, guys …" Connie said, pointing to Home World up ahead.

Jasper looked up and backed up in horror as explosions ripped through four of the asteroids around the planet. "What's happening?"

* * *

SOUNDS OF screams and laser fire filled the air on the surface of the Third Home World Security Outpost, the soldiers of Jasper's rebel militia scrambling as they were attacked from all sides by an enemy they never anticipated. Aircraft were knocked out of the sky and the ground cannons were ripped apart by the attacking forces, pushing the soldiers back and cornering them at their base.

"I can't believe these bastards would do this." Grey Topaz frowned as he opened fire and backed toward the main building of the Security Outpost.

"Lieutenant, help me!" A fallen soldier called out from beneath a pile of debris.

"Hang on!" Grey Topaz ran up to the man and tried to get the rubble off him.

An explosion knocked him to the side however and Grey Topaz looked up to see the outpost go up in flames. He got to his feet and panted, seeing the Moss slowly overrun Home World's forces and destroy the asteroid itself. The creatures were made entirely of green living matter, taking up misshapen horrid humanoid forms for combat and shifting into a liquid-like state to corrupt and destroy machines and non-living matter.

A mass of Moss spread rapidly across the ground toward Grey Topaz and he fired at it with his laser rifle, unable to stop the entity as it surrounded him! He shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable when a sonic wave washed over him, shattering the Moss around him and causing it to scatter like broken glass on the ground.

"What the?" Grey Topaz looked to his left to see Lion running through the battlefield and engaging some Mosslings nearby. He squinted, unsure who the gem was, when he heard Jasper's ship above and looked up, smiling as he saw the orange gem standing by the hanger doors. "Commander!"

Jasper leapt off the ship and came crashing with a punch that cracked the asteroid for several meters around her and knocked back Mosslings nearby. Summoning her helmet around her gemstone, she fired a green photon beam out of her hand, incinerating more of the Moss around her and freeing some of her men. Jumping out of the crater she made, she entered the fray.

Standing from the hangar of the ship, Connie watched as the Moss spread further and further like a green stain over the asteroid, horrified as she saw no end to it. "What is that?"

"That's the Moss, a Home World bioweapon used to obliterate enemies without being detected. They have no energy or heat signature and won't be spotted until it's too late." Pearl frowned. "They were just a fabled dream when I was on Home World, but it seems they've finally completed its creation. Disgusting."

"Well, so basically keep on your toes, right? I go this." Amethyst moved past the two and jumped off the ship.

Amethyst shape-shifted into a large bird as she descended and zigzagged between the Mosslings attacking Jasper's men, wrapping the creatures with her whip that she held in her beak and ascending back into the air, transforming back into her normal form and tossing the lassoed creatures upward, igniting her weapon and incinerating them in a massive explosion that lit the sky!

On the ground, Jasper wrestled with a Mossling and grabbed its neck, smashing it against the ground and blasting it point blank with a photon beam, disintegrating the creature. She rose up and saw more of the creatures nearby when Grey Topaz ran up to her. "Commander!" He called.

"Grey Topaz, what's the situation?" Jasper asked.

"We've lost most of our men already and our cannons are down."

"What happened? Was there a spy among you?" Jasper asked.

"The Moss are attacking us indiscriminately – even soldiers loyal to the Diamonds are getting killed here." Grey Topaz said.

"What madness is this?" Jasper frowned.

"We have to evacuate, we can't fight them like this."

"It's just the Moss, it's no match for us."

"You don't understand, the asteroid's been corrupted." Grey Topaz explained, stunning Jasper as she realized what it meant.

In the ship above, Connie donned her space helmet and prepared to jump onto the asteroid when tremors rippled through the craft, nearly causing her and Pearl to fall off their feet. "What the?"

"Something's hit the ship!" Peridot cried. "We're going down!"

On the asteroid, Jasper watched in horror as a gigantic mass of Moss shot out of the ground, struck the ship from below, and dragged it downward! Reacting quickly, Jasper flew toward the spacecraft when another swathe of Moss erupted from beneath her and bound her, pulling her further away. She struggled against the pull when she looked at the asteroid from above, horrified as the green entity and ripped through it, slowly demolishing it from the inside!

Amethyst burned down a Mossling from nearby and was bound by another as well, forced to watch as Jasper's men nearby were gutted like fish. Grey Topaz watched as his comrades died around him, seeing his Commander hung helpless above him and her ship burning to the ground. With all hope lost, he typed on a keypad on his gauntlet and looked up to Jasper.

"I'm sorry, Commander." He pressed one more button.

Jasper went pale as she realized what he'd done, hearing the main building of the outpost erupt in flames as the asteroid began to self-destruct! The blazing fires engulfed her men below and Grey Topaz watched as the Moss was incinerated, smiling as he was swallowed in the blast as well.

"Grey!" Jasper cried out, immediately getting knocked aside by the shockwave.

The security outpost's explosion sent Jasper, Amethyst and the ship that held Connie and the Gems flying outward and crashing towards Home World below! The aircraft broke apart in the heat of re-entry and the gems were separated, falling like meteors to the ground below.

* * *

LIGHTS SHIMMERED in the sky above as a chunk of Jasper's ship hurtled to the ground and smashed against the sandy rise of a small pink desert, kicking up dust and coming to a creaking stop. Steam rose from the vessel as it slowly cooled and one of its doors flew open as Helio kicked his way out while holding Blood Quartz in one hand, using his free hand to pull out Connie who fell unconscious and giving way for Pearl and Ruby who squeezed their way out and collapsed on the ground gasping for breath.

Helio looked around, expected a barrage of Home World soldiers to attack when he saw the faint lights of the asteroids in space exploding one after another. "Home World's defenses are down …" He sifted his mind in confusion and turned to see Jasper standing a few feet away looking blankly into the distance.

"They're all gone, all of them …" Jasper said shakily. "My armies have been wiped out."

"How do you …" Helio cut himself off as he heard radio static from her gauntlet. "They found us out?"

"It doesn't make sense, I was thorough …" Jasper shook her head. "I had very few sleepers and I had soldiers in far off systems, how did they find them all?"

"Jasper –,"

"Everything is gone, Helio!" Jasper yelled. "Our last chance to defeat the Diamonds is gone!" Her tone softened. "Those were my brothers; I fought with them for years and they're …"

Helio saw the emptiness and grief in Jasper's eyes and walked up to her, hesitating to speak, and she embraced him tightly, wordlessly seeking comfort in him.

Connie groaned as she slowly came to a few feet behind them, seeing Pearl who sat beside her. "What happened?"

"I think we might've lost already." Pearl said, looking to Ruby who searched around their crashed portion of the ship.

"Nobody else is here." Ruby walked up to them. "We gotta go find the others."

"But where do we start?" Connie stood up.

Pearl looked around, trying to think, when she saw small buildings peaking in the distance. "I think I know where we are."

"Is this …?" Ruby asked.

"Region Pink." Jasper said as she stepped away from Helio. "The home of Pink Diamond."

"Is that a military camp or something?" Connie asked.

"No, the energy signature from there is too low." Jasper said. "Come on, let's see what it is."

Jasper, Helio, Pearl, Connie and Ruby traversed the patchy desert toward the buildings they saw, coming closer and realizing that it was a small town with damaged old structures. In the town were several low level gems with numbers tattooed on their necks that immediately turned their attention to them as they arrived, the weaker among them backing away as they sensed Jasper and Helio's power.

"Stop right there!" A small Carnelian ran up to them and held out a rusty spear. "Who are you? State your business before I gut ya!"

"Watch where you're pointing that, you little runt." Jasper snapped the weapon like a twig.

Carnelian yelped. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Everybody run and hide!" She darted off, annoying Jasper.

"I'm sorry about that." A blue Pearl walked up to them. "She dropped out of training, but still feels she's has to fight somebody." She chuckled then gasped as she saw Pearl, her eyes wide in awe. "Whoa, you're a pearl! You're so pretty!"

"I haven't seen another pearl in a long time." Pearl said, chuckling uneasily as Blue Pearl shook her hand eagerly.

"You haven't? Oh, you must work for a high ranking commander or something." Blue Pearl said, looking to Jasper. "And you sure look like a commander, oh – where're my manners!" She curtsied. "Welcome, Commander … uh …"

"There's no need to kiss my ass, I'm not a commander anymore." Jasper said.

"Really? With your energy level? And they cast you aside to this place?"

"What do you mean cast aside?" Connie asked.

"Oh, you're a peculiar looking gem; must've failed shape-shifting training or something." Blue noted. "Well, this's the Slave Village, all of us here are deemed unfit to live in the inner cities because we have nothing to offer in service to the Diamonds, so we toil away in the mines run by Bismuth." She pointed to a mountain range behind her.

"Wait, Bismuth is here?" Ruby asked.

"Well, no, she went missing a few years ago, but we still follow her strict schedule and do what we can." Blue Pearl said with a smile. "If we fail here as well, we get shattered."

"That's not something to smile about." Connie said.

"When you toil away for the Diamonds, you learn to take their bullshit and like it." A Pink Pearl frowned as she walked passed them. "You guys must've been in the highest rank in Region Blue to be this ignorant of what's happening on the ground."

"I'm sorry, but we're in a bit of a rush." Pearl interjected. "We're trying to find the inner city; do you know where it is?"

"You wanna find the inner city? I'm sorry, but that's not a good idea." Blue Pearl said.

"Who's tryna go to the inner city again?" An old gnarly male voice came.

"Oh, Old Topaz, they're just passersby, there're not from here." Blue Pearl said hastily to a large old yellow-skinned gem with a scar across his face clad in a dark coat.

"Slaves or not, yer not gonna get into the inner city." Old Topaz said.

"And why is that?" Pearl asked.

"Haven't ya heard? Rumor has it Black Diamond has awoken and his forces are coming this way."

"There're male diamonds?" Connie raised her brow. "And what do you mean by 'awoken'?"

"Wait, did you say Black Diamond?" Jasper asked with a frown.

"Yer heard me, soldier." Old Topaz growled.

"Then that means they want to wipe out this village." Jasper realized.

* * *

A PIECE of Jasper's ship fell out of a portal for transport ships and crashed into a small river in a park, instantly sinking to the bottom. Bubbles gathered on the surface and out of the depths came Lapis who carried Sapphire onto the grassy bank. "Don't get any hentai fantasies off this shit." She dropped the smaller gem on the ground.

"What? I just read it for amusement."

"Yeah, sure, tell yourself that." Lapis waved her hand, drying herself instantly and looked around, her face paling as she saw where they were. "Fuck."

"What's going on?" Sapphire turned around, fear written all over her face. "Oh man."

The two blue women tensed up as a large highly advanced, white and sterilized city filled with grey and white buildings and airships traversing the skies spread out around them. The people who they could see in the distance were all clad in white and all had some kind of prosthetic or cybernetic enhancements to them.

"We have to get out of here quickly before we get detected." Lapis said, shape-shifting and altering her face, changing her clothes as well to fit in with the residents.

"Region White." Sapphire said, doing the same. "This's probably the worst place to end up in right now."

"Wait, where's Peridot?" Lapis looked around.

"I don't think anyone else was in the ship." Sapphire looked to the river behind them.

"We need to find her." Lapis walked off.

"Hold on, we can't just go running blind; we'll get spotted that way."

"But what if she gets hurt? Or –,"

"Lapis, calm down, she'll be fine." Sapphire said, seeing the panic in her eyes subside. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"She's the most important thing to me." Lapis composed herself and walked toward the street nearby. "Let's find a way out of here."

Sapphire followed her onto the sidewalk of a street surrounding the small park, trying not to react to the curious glances some gems sent their way. Crossing the road and bemused the hovering traffic, the pair searched for the city's exit when they came upon a large lateral egg shaped chrome building with a line of gems at its entrance. Unable to resist their curiosity, they joined the queue and slowly entered the premises.

Sapphire and Lapis entered the building and found themselves on a tour of a science facility, immediately dismayed at their find when a hovering screen nearby scanned their brain waves. The two adept telepaths put up a false series of thoughts, masking both conscious and unconscious minds and continued with the tour group, unable to leave at this point without drawing attention to themselves. The facility's AI communicated with them psychically as they went, showing them some of Home World's recent advancements in bioscience.

Nothing particularly piqued their interest until they were shown a massive assembly hall where gemstones were ferried down a line of conveyer belts. The two struggled to mask the horror on their faces, only showing mild amusement on the outside, as they saw the stones forming into gem babies once they were sent under a machine that shone a light on them.

"And here is our new state of the art Gemification Lab designed by White Diamond herself!" The computer said with elation. "Unlike the clunky old gemification of living species, this new method creates gems from the ground up cell by cell! No soul, no resistance, all programming ready to serve Home World at optimum efficiency!"

The tour group erupted in applause upon the announcement, Lapis and Sapphire dumbfounded as the children were carried into tubes that connected to the upper floor into the waiting arms of excited assigned mothers. The realization donned on them the more the watched the cold display, Home World had gotten all the Gaia Energy they needed when they invaded Beach City long ago; they now had the power to create life itself!

* * *

"THEY WANT to wipe out the village? Then we've gotta get outta here, right?" Connie said in surprise as she stood amongst Jasper, Pearl, Helio, Ruby, Old Topaz, Blue and Pink Pearl in the middle of the Slave Village.

"There ain't no point leavin' here." Old Topaz said. "If Pink Diamond or her soldiers found us anywhere else, they'd shatter us for deserting our posts. If Home World deems us unfit to live period, then so be it."

"You can't be serious." Jasper frowned.

"Look around you," The old gem gestured to the haggard and tired villagers around him. "There's nothin' we can do to stop this even if we tried."

"You guys have a choice and we don't." Pink Pearl walked off. "If you weren't cast out here, then leave. If not, resign to your fate."

"No, I won't accept that." Pearl walked up to Blue and Pink Pearl, stopping them in their tracks. "You still have a choice; you can decide what lives you want to live."

"We had our entire lives planned out for us the moment we were born and assigned to our Diamonds and they got tired of us." Blue Pearl said. "We've already lived our lives and failed; all that awaits us is death."

"If you still believe in the fairy tales they taught you in education, then you worse off than us." Pink Pearl frowned. "You live to fall in line around here and if they tell you to die then you do it too; pearls exist to serve and that's all." She scoffed and walked off. "I'm surprised your Diamond didn't have you shattered already."

Pearl froze in place as the other two pearls walked off, thinking and turning to Jasper and the others. "We can't just leave them like this."

"It doesn't look like they want to be saved." Helio said.

"Well, we'll save them whether they want to be saved or not." Pearl said. "We need a plan."

* * *

WORRY PLAGUED Ruby's mind as she trekked the sandy deserts near the Slave Village, trying to clear her thoughts and calm down. They'd lost their ship, Jasper's armies were gone and they didn't know where the others ended up, but there still had a chance to stop Home World and get back to earth. There had to be.

She pondered this when she heard something crunch at her feet, looking down and backing away in terror as she'd stepped in the remains of a shattered gemstone! She raised her head and felt an immediate coldness fill her as she saw an endless sea of corpses splayed on the ground before her! The scent of blood and smoke was strong in the air, the ripped apart limbs and internal organs lay scattered making her hyperventilate as she tried to articulate what she was seeing.

A shuffling sound cut through her panic however and she turned to her right to see a gem dragging himself from under a pile of bodies, covered in blood and soot. Not thinking about it, Ruby rushed to the man's aid, moving the corpses over and pulling him up to a sitting position. The red-skinned gem had black hair, wore an eye-patch and was clad in a dark coat over a black shirt, pants and boots. He was covered in wounds, but was slowly healing and he looked up to thank her when the horrid sight unfolded before him.

"No, no, no!" The gem panicked, trying to stand and held back by his stinging wounds. "Patchy, Iron Arm! The Slave Village!"

"Hold on, just try and breathe." Ruby said. "What happened here?"

"There was a battle and I –," the gem grunted, holding his side and closing the open wound over his ribs. "The Moss were coming …" He hissed in pain. "They were going to invade the Slave Village and the rubies and I tried to stop them."

"The rubies?" Ruby raised her brow, looking up and realizing that all the corpses were dead ruby soldiers. "Oh God …"

"We tried to stop them, but they were too many." The gem spoke, clenching his fist and holding back tears. "They killed all of them."

"Where're the Moss now?" Ruby asked.

"They must have detoured and gone to wreak havoc elsewhere." The gem said. "The Moss never leave bodies behind, so we must've deterred them enough to change course."

"We have to get you back to the others." Ruby stood up. "Can you walk?"

"I think I can." The gem said, grunting as Ruby helped him up.

Ruby guided the gem through the pile of corpses, keeping an eye out for any others that moved and feeling out for any energy signatures, and she walked him out of the area, heading toward the Slave Village. The man felt too light despite being taller than her and he also looked familiar as she glanced at him, wondering if she'd met him before.

"Do I know you?" The gem finally spoke.

"I, don't know …" Ruby paused for a moment. "I don't think I've met you before, but you seem familiar for some reason."

"Then you must've met my twin sister Leggy." The gem said. "She's a soldier under White Commander Jasper, one of the top tiers in her squad." He smiled. "I haven't seen her in forever."

"Oh, I see the resemblance now." Ruby said, her heart sinking to her stomach as she remembered Leggy's final moments in Beach City.

"I'm Nalar, I was a former soldier under Pink Diamond herself."

"I'm Ruby." Ruby forced a smile.

"Just Ruby?"

"Apparently." Ruby said. "Nobody in my squad thought of anything unique to call me, so I just go by Ruby."

"There's no shame in that; I gave myself this name actually." Nalar chuckled. "You say you've met my sister? How long ago was this?"

"Oh, just a few months." Ruby said. "She's off-world though, but she and her squad were doing well."

"Well, at least she doesn't have to see me in such a sorry state." Nalar said. "I just hope I can see her soon one of these days."

"Yeah." Ruby felt a lump in her throat. "Yeah, she'll be happy to see you again."

Nalar huffed and stepped away from her, dusting himself off and walking with a slight limp. "Come on, let's get to the Village before nightfall."

* * *

CONNIE LAUGHED hysterically at the table as she, Pearl, Jasper and Helio had dinner under dim crystal light with Old Topaz and the locals in the community building of the small town. "And I told Yellow Diamond, 'why don't ya shove that medal up yer ass, you old hag!'" Old Topaz yelled in a drunken slur.

"It's not that funny of a story." Pearl chuckled uneasily as she rocked Blood Quartz then frowned at Connie who nearly fell over with laughter beside her. "See, I told you that you couldn't handle Home World alcohol."

"Ah, give her a break, she's old enough now." Jasper said from across the table. "But the old man's bullshittin', you can't say that to Yellow Diamond and live to tell the tale."

"I swear, Yellow and I were that close back in the day."

"Bullshit! The only friends Diamonds have are other diamonds, that's it." Jasper sat back. "Those degenerate shits are so blasé about people that they referred to us by numbers for years until the rubies made up names for the rest of us."

"Wait, the rubies are the ones who gave us names?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, they're bad at counting, so they just called each other by their species and a unique trait and it spread to the rest of the military until everyone started doing it." Jasper said. "I'm lucky I'm the only Jasper who's just called 'Jasper' or life as a lieutenant in my squad would be hell."

"Hmm, seems that's another thing we have in common because I never got a prefix either." Helio said.

"Neither did I or the other Crystal Gems now that I think about it." Pearl stroked her chin.

"Well, it's not a perfect system, but it's better than the number system." Jasper said. "I'd hate to reach a point where we had gems with six digit names."

"Wait, you're the Crystal Gems?" Blue Pearl asked.

"Well, that's surprising." Pink Pearl said.

"Whoa, fer real? Shit, I didn't think such legends would stop by this lil ol' town." Old Topaz said.

"Hold up, you guys were legends?" Connie said, trying not to drop her cup.

"Well, shit, the Battle of Blue Palace, the Raid of Stormy Creak and the Great Gem War; the Crystal Gems all but led a revolution that pulled many gems out of their shitty servitude to those giant cunts!" Old Topaz said.

"Uh, I wouldn't be so loud, Old Topaz, someone might hear us." Blue Pearl said.

"Ah, nobody of high rank has been here since Bismuth went missing, so who cares honestly." Pink Pearl said.

"I wonder what number I was referred to as." Helio said, still stuck on the previous topic, then chuckled. "I kind of forgot."

"Wait, you're still on that?" Pink Pearl said.

"I was 717." Jasper said.

"1216." Pearl said.

"958." Nalar said as he entered the room, drawing attention to himself and Ruby who was not too far behind.

"Nalar! It's been a few days, where've you and the rubies been?" Old Topaz asked.

Nalar tried to answer when he saw the smiling faces at the table, unwilling to ruin the mood. "Uh, they decided to scout ahead to stop the Moss from getting closer."

"Ah, that's good." Old Topaz said then huffed. "Man, if only I still had my strength." He tapped a large photon axe that hung on the wall behind him. "If me and the boys were still together, we could've taken out the Moss already." He crossed his arms. "Amber Topaz, Lily Carnelian, Undying Ametrine, Rogue Zircon, Wise Jasper, rest their souls."

Jasper frowned as she heard the names he spoke, rising from the table. "Excuse me for a sec." She left the room, worrying Helio who saw the shock on her face.

Helio walked off and followed her and Old Topaz raised his brow, tasting the soup and shrugging. "Guess some people can't handle spicy food."

Jasper stepped into a nearby hallway and came to a stop, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily as it hit her. Helio followed her and raised his brow in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Those soldiers Old Topaz mentioned, those were my old war buddies." Jasper said.

"And what of it? Did they die?"

"Yes." Jasper frowned. "I'm the one who killed them."

Back in the dining hall, Pink Pearl drank the last of her booze and wiped her lip, trying not cough. "Well, if you Crystal Gems are so great, I'd like to see it for myself once we get outta here."

"I thought you guys wanted to stay." Connie said.

"Fuck that; now that we know who you are, we're not just gonna back down and give up."

"You Crystal Gems have done so much for the little guy, we can't just roll over after all you've accomplished." Old Topaz said.

Pearl looked around the room, nearly tearing up with joy at their admiration of them. "Thanks, you guys."

The group continued eating when the doors burst open as Carnelian rushed into the room. "We've got an emergency! We've got an emergency!"

"Carnelian, what're you blubbering on about now? This's isn't the time for games." Old Topaz frowned.

"The Moss are coming!"

* * *

MEANWHILE IN space, loud music blasted in the Capsule Corp spaceship as it soared through space, annoying 24-year-old Trunks who moved through the main area cluttered with snack packets and cans into the cockpit of the ship where 23-year-old Goten sat at his chair with his feet on the control panel.

"Goten, what the hell are you doing!?"

"What? it's just Post Malone." Goten sat up.

"Get your damn feet of the controls!" Trunks pushed his legs off and sat beside him, checking on the scanners. "Dammit, I can't believe Goku forced me to carry you along."

"Hey, you know you couldn't pull off this mission on your own."

"I'd have found Kale and Caulifla already if wasn't for you fooling around!" Trunks yanked out Goten's phone from the computer and tossed it aside.

"Hey, I just bought that!" Goten rushed to pick up the mobile.

Trunks shook his head and checked on the ship's onboard computer, excitement spreading on his face as he saw its readings. "Hey, the ship's detected two Ki energy signatures on a nearby planet, and they're pretty strong too."

"Man, you cracked the screen protector!" Goten whined as he picked up the phone.

"Dude focus, we just found Caulifla and Kale." Trunks said.

"Whoa, seriously?" Goten walked back into the room.

"It says the planet they're on is called … Home World?" Trunks became puzzled. "What kinda name is that?"

"Whatever it is, put this ship in high gear and let's find those to chicks!" Goten said excitedly. "I heard they were pretty hot, bruh."

Trunks groaned. "I wish this was a solo mission."

* * *

IN REGION White, White Diamond stepped into a large room in one of her various laboratories and slid icons around on a holographic screen before her, dismissing it as she came upon to two glass pods connected to various machinery in the room where Kale and Caulifla lay unconscious. The Diamond looked at them curiously as the containment units scanned their energy readings as the women went into their Super Saiyan forms while out cold.

"Perfect." White Diamond said.


	20. Home World Ch2 - The Moss

**HOME WORLD**

**Chapter 2: The Moss**

PEARL'S EYES shone as she looked into the darkness of the night whilst standing amongst Jasper, Helio, Ruby, Connie and Carnelian in front of the community building, seeing through as clear as day as she searched the area for the Moss Carnelian seen before. The once lively town was now completely silent, the gems cowering inside their poorly boarded up makeshift buildings they called homes as they awaited the terrors they heard rumors about. Failing to see anything, Pearl turned to Carnelian who clung to her spear that she'd patched up from before.

"Are you sure you saw the Moss?" Pearl asked.

"I swear I did! It was green and it was moving around a bunch." The little gem replied. "It didn't seem to spot me when I spotted it near the village, so I rushed back to tell ya."

"If they're here, we won't be able to detect them even if we tried." Helio frowned. "They have no heat or energy signature, we'd only spot them when we see them."

"Well, that sounds like a headache." Connie frowned, clutching the hilt of Rose's Sword.

"Okay, you gotta go back inside with the others." Pearl told Carnelian.

"And what about y'all?" Old Topaz said as he stepped out of the building. "You don't wanna fight these things and have 'em spread everywhere. Let 'em just move past when they don't detect anything here."

"Guess your info on the Moss isn't up to scratch, huh, old man." Jasper said. "The Moss don't need an energy signature, they can sense gemstones – if they're here, they'll find us and attack us."

Old Topaz huffed then smirked. "Then give those little shits hell." He headed back inside with Carnelian.

Jasper turned to Helio. "I'll need to bubble Blood."

Helio nodded, handing over the toddler who looked at him curiously. "Right."

Jasper smiled as she took her baby in her arms, moving her hand over his chest gemstone. "I'll see you soon, little one." She pressed her thumb on his crystal, fazing into it slightly, and caused the child to poof and retract into the stone. Holding the stone firmly in hand, she fused it into her arm and stepped forward. "Alright, let's do this."

Connie raised her brow in shock. "What did she just –,"

"Now's not the time for questions." Ruby shut her down.

Pearl, Jasper, Helio, Ruby and Connie stepped away from the community building into the center of the Slave Village, the gems able to see in the dark via other light spectrums and Connie through her suit's helmet, and they looked around, wondering what was going on. They looked around on the ground, at every building around them for a bit, beginning to question if they'd been pranked by Carnelian when a shrill cry cut through the air to their right.

The noise caught their attention and another scream came from their left in the distance, followed by a few others that quickly turned into a chaotic noise that filled the small town. Connie drew her blade, wondering which sound to follow when a massive mass of Moss came barreling down toward the five up ahead, splitting up rapidly into Mosslings that started tearing into nearby houses!

"It's them!" Connie cried.

"Everybody split up!" Jasper ordered and charged onward.

Jasper's body radiated in energy as she burst forward and collided right with the Mosslings, flying further into the town and taking on the hordes of Mosslings. Connie tried to assess the monsters and Ruby stayed behind her, unsure of what to do when a large Bloodstone rushed past them and smashed through a Mossling with a punch, jolting them out of their thoughts. Seeing Helio hover in the air conjuring the mindless soldiers, they shook themselves out of it.

"Connie, Ruby, you two help evacuate the villagers." Pearl said, her body glowing as she summoned seven clones around her. "Helio, Jasper and I will try and hold these guys off as long as we can and keep them from reaching the community building."

"You got it." Connie nodded and rushed towards a nearby house when a cluster of Moss washed right over her, swallowing her whole!

"Connie!" Ruby cried out.

* * *

A BLUE beam of energy tore through the orange dust-filled skies of a far-off planet, the rays of energy bombarding Steven's body as he tried to shield himself with nothing but his arms crossed before him. The Super Saiyan unleashing the attack, now using one arm, hovered in the air a few feet ahead of him, chuckling as the young boy was barely able to move.

"Come on, whatcha doing?" Goku called out.

"Hey, a Kamehameha isn't just a regular Ki blast, alright!" Steven yelled.

"Well, I won't let up until you can break outta it."

Steven frowned as he tried to think, starting to panic as his jacket began to singe. Reacting quickly, he teleported and Goku smirked as he saw this, spinning back and expecting to see the man there, but found nothing. Perplexed, the martial artist looked around when three pink energy balls crashed against his back, sending him hurtling through the air!

Catching himself, Goku smiled as he saw Steven flying toward him and sped toward the boy, teleporting haphazardly through the sky to test him. Steven saw through this and matched his speed, catching up at several points in the air and leaving sonic bursts behind them, appearing finally on the ground in the wasteland and locking fists, breaking apart the landscape and demolishing two nearby mountains in their wake!

Steven returned Goku's smug look and the older man laughed, returning to his base form. "Good going, Steven, good going."

"Hey, are you gonna show me your god form?" Steven asked.

"Nope."

"Oh, come on, I'm on par with your Super Saiyan form." Steven said, holding up his sleeve. "I mean look, I took your best attack without a scratch."

"You're pretty strong, stronger than most actually, but you're only on par with Super Saiyan 1." Goku turned to him. "You'd struggle with 2, 3 then there's –,"

"Wait, that wasn't Super Saiyan 2?"

"Nope."

"Well, you gotta show me more of your power then." Steven said.

"Hey, I'm tryna get you to learn how to control your energy, not to get as strong as I am." Goku chuckled. "And even if I was, we'd need a Time Chamber and it'd still take a while." He turned to Steven. "Just keep training and who knows, maybe one day you might even surpass me."

"Really?" Steven asked excitedly.

"Sure, I –,"

"Goku!" A disembodied male voice called out.

"Whis?" Goku asked, touched his temple.

"Goku, I'll need your assistance if you'd be so kind." The Angel said telepathically. "We've got a situation on our hands."

"I'm on it, Whis." Goku said, turning to Steven. "Sorry, Steven, I gotta run."

"Wait, where're ya going?" Steven asked.

"It's important and I have to return to earth." Goku said. "I guess this's goodbye for now."

"But, aren't you gonna train me anymore?"

"You've learned a lot these past few months Steven and you've mastered how to control your energy." Goku placed his hand on his shoulder. "I trained you so you could better handle your powers, not to get as strong as I am. You have a lot of potential; it's up to you now to figure out what to do with it."

Steven huffed. "Well, I hope we can meet again someday."

"You're not going back to earth?" Goku asked. "I thought you're from there? You don't have family or anything there?"

Steven hesitated. "I've got a few things to deal with first."

Goku looked at him curiously then smiled. "Well, see ya later, Steven." He touched his forehead with his index and middle fingers and vanished.

Steven stretched out as soon as he felt Goku's energy signature completely disappear and he walked to the edge of the hill they were on, sitting down and taking a breather. He looked out into the blue grassy valley of the monster-filled planet, still amazed at how some of the mountains in the area floated in the air while everything else seemed to obey the same laws of gravity as earth. He began to think about Connie and the others now that Goku had mentioned home, wondering what they'd been up to all these years. It was surprising that years had passed since he left and was a little worrying that he didn't feel the need to return to the Crystal Gems either.

He searched his mind for a moment, wondering what to do next or where to go when he felt someone tap his shoulder. "Hey, Steven."

Steven yelped and fell over at the sudden contact, shifting over to see an orange-skinned, red-haired woman with green eyes clad in a revealing purple suit bending over to him with a smile. "Oh, hey –," He coughed and deepened his voice. "Hey, Starfire."

"What're you doing all the way out on this abandoned planet?" Starfire stood up and looked around.

"Being an idiot as usual." Kevin Levin, a tall muscular man with black hair clad in dark clothing and heavy boots, walked passed them while looking at a handheld scanner.

"What in the world was that energy we sensed on the way here?" Gwen Tennyson, a red-haired woman wearing a long red coat over black trousers and boots followed after Kevin. "It felt like there was a star inside the planet."

"Oh yeah, I met this saiyan named Goku and he'd been training me here for a bit." Steven rose to his feet.

"You met a saiyan?" Kevin asked in disbelief.

"You're joking right? That race went extinct long ago." Gwen said. "Hell, I don't even believe they existed to begin with."

"No way, you actually met Goku?" Ben Tennyson, a brunette-haired man dressed in a green jacket, black shirt, blue jeans and sneakers with a large watch on his right arm, stepped out of space ship parked nearby. "Man, I'd have loved to meet the guy; he's one of the strongest beings in the multiverse."

"Ben!" Steven hugged him. "Man, it's been so long!" He pulled back and looked at him in surprise. "What happened to you?"

"Uh, you left us on Xandar a few months ago, remember?" Ben said. "Jeez, I forgot how forgetful you are sometimes."

"Oh, yeah." Steven said awkwardly. "I kinda got carried away training."

"Mmm, I've noticed." Starfire eyed Steven as she moved up to him. "Your energy's got a lot of weight behind it now, it's almost smothering."

"Uh," Steven blushed and laughed nervously.

"Guys, we've got a problem here." Gwen said, drawing the other's attention as she looked to the lower planes below. "I think we found it here as well."

"What is it?" Ben walked up to her then frowned as he saw what she was referring to, "The Moss."

Steven came up to the edge of the cliff and saw a large mass of Moss moving over the ground below, rapidly increasing in size and heading toward a city in the distance. "What is that?"

"They're a powerful, all-consuming bioweapon Plumber orbital surveillance picked up images of on multiple planets in this quadrant and we were sent along with others to eradicate it." Ben said.

"It destroys everything it comes in contact with and destroys the planet once it's done, and can't be detected with anything except visual confirmation." Kevin said. "It's the perfect weapon."

"You know who's behind this?" Steven asked.

"A distant planet called Home World." Starfire answered.

* * *

HEAT AND immense pain spread throughout Connie's body as the Moss swarmed all over her, eating away at her flesh and sapping her of her energy. She struggled as they tugged at her from all sides, trying desperately to grab Rose's sword on her back when she felt a sudden rush of air as the Moss fell apart, revealing Pearl who pulled her out of the entity that spread over the ground.

"Connie, are you alright?" Pearl asked, looking at the burns on the girl's body.

"No, I –," Connie tried to say when her suit suddenly reformed and her wounds slowly began to heal. "Well, I'm okay I guess." She chuckled in surprise.

"Seems Helio's science isn't entirely destructive." Pearl said, looking at a Bloodstone nearby as it pulled a gem woman out from a pile of rubble. "Though I can't say the same about his wife." She huffed as Jasper ripped a Mossling in half with her bare hands and slammed it into the earth, smashing it to bits as she broke a massive hole through the ground!

"I'll be more careful next time." Connie said, drawing her blade and running off.

Connie moved through a small street behind her, cutting down three Mosslings that tried to get in her way, and she came upon a house where more of the creatures gathered. She looked through the window of the small home, seeing three gems trembling inside as the monsters tore the walls down, and she held out her hand, channeling Gaia Energy out of her arm that spread out like a large vine. Drawing out the photonic whip, Connie lashed it against the ground, sending out a shockwave that launched the beasts into the air and she thrust her hand out at them, shooting the energy tube that split into smaller tendrils, piercing the Mosslings and incinerating them instantly!

Elsewhere in the town, Ruby chucked a fireball at a cluster of Moss that began to dig its way into the ground and dismantle the street, leaping at the entity with an electricity charged fist and punching the creature, smashing it to pieces. She looked around, seeing patches of Moss that spread all over nearby houses and remembering how the security outpost in space was destroyed earlier, quickly rising to her feet and failing to notice a large Mossling collecting behind her! The monster swung at her with a jagged arm too quickly for her to react when a transparent energy disc shot through its chest, ripping it apart!

Ruby turned as she heard the monster collapse behind her and smiled as she saw who it was that saved her. "Nalar!"

"Heh, sorry, my spells are a little weak." The ruby said as the magic circle in his hands fizzled out.

"Wait, shouldn't you be healing after what happened earlier?" Ruby asked.

"I'll be fine." Nalar said, grunting in pain and worrying the red woman.

Carnelian ran toward a Mossling nearby the two, screaming wildly as she held out her little spear and swung at the creature while it wasn't looking. She shut her eyes as the blade made contact with the monster, not realizing that it hadn't made a dent, and Nalar conjured a light disc inside the creature, causing it to fall apart. Carnelian opened her eyes and smiled as the Mossling lay dead at her feet, running off to attack another one across from her. Nalar chuckled and followed the small gem as she 'fought' more of the Moss and Ruby looked on in amusement, charmed by his kindness.

A Pearl clone rushed past Ruby however and clashed with a Mossling with its sword, hacking off the monster's arm and swiftly slashing it in half! The doppelganger looked to the sky to see the original Pearl floating above the town, conjuring a large spear in her hand. Looking out into a street before her, the pale woman took aim with her lance and hurled it down at a group of Mosslings that attacked homes below. The weapon split into a volley of smaller javelins and rained upon the monsters from above, erupting in explosions of light that burned them completely!

In front of the community building, Old Topaz cut down a Mossling with his photonic axe, panting as he stood up and looked at the small town become overrun with the monsters. He steeled himself, ready to fight another creature as it ran toward him when Jasper crashed onto it and blasted it with an energy beam from her hand, walking off the downed creature and moving up to the man.

"So, how're things looking out here?" She asked.

"These critters keep comin', but I've held 'em off for now." The old gem said almost breathless.

"You've gotta sit this one out, old man."

"I gotta defend this place; if I sit by, everyone inside will die."

"We've got this under control." Jasper said.

"Ya sure ya do? 'Cause the entire village's covered already." Old Topaz pointed at a building nearby completely covered in a mass of Moss.

Jasper growled. "These things are fucking weak, but they just keep coming." She cracked her knuckles. "But, we'll find a way to take 'em out for good, don't worry."

A bubbling sound interrupted them however and Jasper turned to see the Mossling she'd blasted on the ground slowly reform and turn red! She frowned as she saw this, realizing that all the Moss she and the others had taken down were coming back alive the same way, doubling the number of enemies they were facing! She unleashed her aura from her body and tried to fly off when she heard a loud explosion, looking back and seeing a wall of the community building collapse as a giant Mossling broke through!

She ran toward it, but tripped over as more of the entity wrapped around her leg, pulling her to the ground! She fired at it, freeing herself, but looked onward to see cracks all over the ground, realizing that the Moss had rooted itself beneath the town! "Shit."

Jasper heard screams from the community center behind her and she flew into the building, shooting a hole through the giant Mossling inside and looking to see the gems were unharmed. She rushed outside when she felt a tremor spread through the town, looking to her left and seeing a swathe of Moss hoist a house into the air and rip right through it, killing the gems inside! She frowned as she wondered what to do next and saw several Bloodstones nearby break apart as the green entity pierced into them as it seeped from the ground!

Jasper looked below her and saw a green liquid starting to rise from the ground as the Moss spread further. "Y'all need to get outta here!" Old Topaz said, hacking down a monster to his left.

"What? We're not leaving you like this." Jasper said.

"There's no saving this place anymore." Old Topaz said. "You can't get sucked into this village's problems."

"These things are weak, we can take them out."

"Jasper, look around, the village's overrun."

"No, we don't give up." Jasper unleashed her aura and prepared to fight when she saw several houses nearby collapse underground one by one, freezing in her tracks. Her face paled as the Mosslings began to collect and spread beneath the ground, swarming over Helio and Pearl who were nearby, completely immobilizing them.

"You have to get out while you still can." Old Topaz said. "You can't stop the Diamonds if you get caught up in all of this." Jasper thought this through.

In a street nearby, Pearl struggled as the liquid Moss began to pull her underground, nearly submerging her when a clone of hers grabbed her hand and pulled her out, letting her levitate in the air. She breathed heavily as she felt burns spread on her body and turned to see Helio getting sucked into the entity like she was, raising her arms and pulling him out telekinetically. She looked around as she held him up and saw Ruby and Nalar on the ground below.

"Ruby! Ruby, we need to get outta –," Pearl tried to say when the town split in half, moving Ruby and Nalar further away her!

Nalar and Ruby were knocked off their feet from the aftershock and Nalar panicked as he saw Carnelian holding onto a building frightfully. "Carnelian! Get back here, it's not safe!"

"N-no, I can still fight them!" She mustered, beginning to tear up as fear took over.

"Carnelian, listen to him! We can't take them on like this!" Ruby yelled.

Carnelian whimpered as she saw a house break down near her and she slowly nodded. "I'm coming!" She gulped, inching her way toward them as the ground started to tilt, making harder for her to move. Ruby got to her feet and ran toward the girl who reached out to her, slowly closing the distance when the Moss broke out from below Carnelian and wrapped around her!

"Carnelian!" Ruby cried, trying to shoot fire at the Moss when the earth snapped in half again, splitting them further apart.

Carnelian struggled against the pull of the Moss, trying to get to Ruby when the entity stabbed through her chest, drawing blood from her mouth! Nalar's body fell limp as he saw the little girl impaled, falling to his knees as her gemstone shattered and the Moss sucked her into the earth! Ruby panted as she looked around, seeing the town break down and fall into a widening abyss, separating her and Nalar from Pearl, Helio and Jasper who were on the other side!

* * *

SEVERAL PURPLE-skinned aliens ran about in a panic as a cluster of Moss moved through their city on the monster planet, fleeing for their lives as the entity began to root itself into the nearby buildings and raze them to the ground! A woman tripped as she fled and screamed in terror as a Mossling raised its arm to strike her down when a pink energy ball burst through the creature's chest, burning it to bits!

"Try to get somewhere safe, we've got this!" Steven yelled from above and flew into the fray, engaging the Mossling horde.

Running through a nearby street, Ben – who had transformed into Diamondhead – came up to a mass of Moss and slammed his fist against the ground, sending out a line of diamonds that pierced through the creature and broke it apart. He felt the earth rumble and turned to see a building collapsing, quickly running to the rescue when Gwen flew in and raised her hands into the air, holding up the edifice with telepathy! Chanting a spell, the sorceress summoned two photonic pillars beneath the structure that slowly put it back in an upright position and she cast another spell, binding the building together with magical energy.

Ben smiled as his cousin flew past and jerked as the road broke apart, looking to his left to Kevin who ripped a cluster of Moss out of the ground. Grabbing the entity, Kevin absorbed the creature's material and transformed into it, thrusting his arm up and forcing more Moss up to the surface, shattering it instantly! Focusing on the task at hand, Ben tapped on the large watch on his chest, transforming into XLR8 and sped off, dashing past Steven who cut down a Mossling with an energy axe.

Channeling his energy, Steven enlarged the lance and cast it forward, tearing through several Mosslings up ahead and guiding the weapon photokinetically. In a nearby street, Starfire descended to the ground with a twirl, sending out a wave of green plasma that hacked several beasts that were around her! Seeing Steven's javelin fly toward her, the orange woman grabbed the weapon and shoved it through the gravel below; creating an explosion that vaporized the green mass underground!

Steven moved up to Starfire. "You think that's all of them?"

"No; according to Plumber Intel, there should be a lot more of the bioweapon still lurking around." Star crossed her arms. "This battle could prove quite troublesome."

"Not for long." Gwen said as she hovered past them, her body glimmering as her aura rose.

Chanting a spell, Gwen wove her arms above her head and created a massive purple magic circle above the city, creating a vacuum like pull that began to draw in the Moss below! The ground shook violently and Steven, Starfire, Kevin and Ben looked around in surprise as the green entity was sucked up into the air and collected around the light disc, getting bound to it and electrocuted as they made contact!

"I'm gonna need some help here!" Gwen struggled as her energy began to wane.

"I got it!" Steven shot into the air.

Charging energy into his palm, Steven forged an energy ball that quickly expanded in size and he chucked it at the green mass in the air, immediately creating a force field above him and the others! Gwen looked at him curiously when the energy ball collided with the Moss and erupted in a massive explosion that caused gale force winds that nearly knocked her back despite being behind the barrier! Moving her hands away as the blast dispersed, the red-haired girl looked on in amazement as the Moss was completely destroyed, descending to the ground.

"So, was that all of 'em?" Steven asked.

"No, more are on their way." Gwen said.

"Really? Oh, come on!" Steven followed her.

"Wow, Steven, that was amazing!" Starfire looked at the smoke in the sky above.

"Heh, nah, it was nothing." Steven rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

"What do you mean there's still more of this junk? Didn't you draw it all up from the ground?" Kevin asked.

"The Moss are capable of regeneration, though I'm not sure to what extent." Gwen said. "I think the only way we can stop this as it the source."

"You want us to go to Home World?" Ben pocketed his hands. "That's a little ballsy, even the Lantern Corp are afraid of setting foot there."

"I'm sensing an immense energy signature on this planet." Gwen said, looking to the valley to her right. "And I think it might be the source of the Moss."

* * *

CONNIE BREATHED heavily as she pulled herself up to the top of the hill, looking up and sighing in relief as Pearl offered her a hand from above. Taking her hand, the girl was pulled upward and she turned to the Slave Village in the distance behind them, her heart sinking as she saw the small town fall apart as the Moss completely swallowed it and the gems in it underground! She looked to Pearl, Helio and Jasper who were on the hill with her, the latter who sat by herself in silence, and she began to panic.

"Wait, where's Ruby?" Connie asked.

"We got separated from them, but she was with Nalar the last time I saw her." Pearl said, huffing. "This's a disaster."

"Not looking into the Moss when they were being developed by the Diamonds was a total oversight on my part." Helio crossed his arms. "Pink Diamond was at the head of the experiments and she wasn't as successful a scientist as White Diamond, so I didn't think she'd pull this off. Now that it's been awakened along with Black Diamond, our problems just got far worse."

"Who is Black Diamond exactly?" Connie asked.

"He's the first gem with an artificial intelligence and is more powerful than most gem commanders, though still weaker than the Diamonds themselves." Helio explained. "When colonization of a planet fails or the Diamonds deem its resources or inhabitants worthless, they send him to simply destroy the planet and move on."

"So, the Diamonds want to destroy Home World?"

"I'm not sure, but we do know that they want to wipe the slate clean of any gems they see unfit to live, so they've awakened the Moss." Helio said.

"We need to come up with a plan." Pearl turned to him. "We can't let more gems get killed off like this."

"But how can we stop this? We don't know where the others are and we have no idea how to actually take out the Moss." Connie said.

"There's no point in trying to stop the Moss." Jasper finally spoke.

"What? But they're murdering gems." Pearl frowned.

"The Diamonds intercepted our plans before they even began and have taken out the armies I had posted off-world before I could bring them back together. We've lost this fight." Jasper said.

"So we should just give up?"

"No, but Helio and I are leaving this planet." Jasper rose to her feet, revealing Blood Quartz whom she held in her arms, and she pressed a button on her gauntlet, activating a space suit that covered her from head to toe.

"Wait, where're you going?" Pearl asked.

"To get more power." Jasper said as she walked off and activated Blood's space suit. "We'll meet up again at the center of Region Pink when we're done."

"Wait, what're you talking about?" Pearl asked, raising her brow as Helio donned his own suit and shot into the air, following Jasper who'd flown off. "Hey, wait!" She called out, but the two gems had already gone.

"Did they just ditch us here?" Connie squinted as the two disappeared into the sky.

"I don't know, but we'll stick to the plan." Pearl said, descending down the side of the hill. "Follow me."

"What's at the center of Region Pink exactly?" Connie quickly followed her.

"The home of Pink Diamond, my former master."

* * *

TRUNKS CAREFULLY navigated his ship as he and Goten drew closer to Home World, his mind whirring with thoughts as he tried to think of how they should approach their mission. From the rumors he'd heard, the Diamonds were not beings you'd want to cross paths with and if they had Kale and Caulifla, he wondered how they'd make it out alive. Fear quickly took hold of him as he remembered the stories he'd heard from Thor back at Avengers Headquarters, of how they'd come across Thanos years ago and fought him to a stalemate and how they'd taken out other cosmic invaders in the past.

He tried to calm himself when Goten interrupted his thoughts. "I'm bored!" The raven-haired man beside him groaned.

"Hey, I'm trying to focus here!" Trunks yelled at him. "Do you realize that we might end up facing one of the biggest threats in the known universe if we screw this up?"

"Yeah, yeah, something about some giant bitches or some shit, who cares."

"The Diamonds managed to go toe to toe with Thanos! If we mess this up, we're dead." Trunks said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, man."

"You know, these past few months, all you've done is just sit around listening to music, eat trash and doing nothing to aid the mission." Trunks put the ship on autopilot.

"Well, how am I gonna help? I don't know how this ship works anyway." Goten sat back.

"You could at least clean up once in a while or help navigate the ship; you went through flight school just like I did."

"Well, you're doing a good job if you ask me; I don't see what else I can do." Goten shrugged.

"Y'know what, I –," Trunks tried to say when Jasper and Helio flew past their ship, causing it to swerve out of control!

"What the?!" Goten yelled as he fell off his seat.

"Something just went past us!" Trunks took the controls and stabilized the ship, looking at the radar in amazement as it tracked Jasper and Helio leaving the star system. "What the hell was moving that fast?"

"Uh, Trunks …" Goten pointed outside.

Trunks raised his head and immediately froze in surprise as he saw the debris of the security outposts floating around Home World. He slowed the ship down and maneuvered through the maze of carnage, stunned as torn apart and burned body parts drifted past them. He checked the ship's computers and became more unnerved as he saw that it detected Kale and Caulifla's energy signatures on the planet's surface.

"What happened here?" Goten asked.

"I don't know, but we're here." Trunks said. "This's Home World."

"But, didn't you say the Diamonds were super powerful? Who wrecked the place like this?"

"How would I know?" Trunks huffed. "Let's make our descent."

Trunks ignited the ship's thrusters and entered the planet's atmosphere, steeling himself for what horrors he might witness when he landed when he saw a massive beautiful city in the distance. The white and chrome futuristic metropolis shone in the middle of a beautiful valley, literally glimmering against the aurora sky lit by two suns. The sight completely caught him off-guard, but he remained apprehensive, setting the ship in the middle of a small forest far from the city to shroud their arrival.

Goten smiled as he saw small six-winged birds and furry creatures scamper about as they landed and quickly rose to his feet and headed for the door as Trunks shut off the engines. "Where're you going?" The purple-haired man asked.

"I'm gonna check the area out." Goten said.

"No, you're staying here." Trunks got up. "I'm taking recon, so you watch the ship."

"Aw, what?" Goten whined.

"We can't have our only way home destroyed, so you keep watch while I try to figure out a way to get into the city." Trunks strapped on a gauntlet on his left arm. "Kale and Caulifla are in that city, so I'll try to find an entry point then we sneak in and get them out before we get spotted, so keep watch."

"Fine." Goten frowned and headed into the cockpit as Trunks opened the vessel's doors and leapt out.

Goten grumbled to himself as he took his seat and watched as Trunks flew through the forest, leaving him alone inside the vessel. He hummed to himself and looked around, immediately regretting leaving his laptop behind and missing the internet as his phone couldn't pick up a signal this far from earth. Five minutes passed and he quickly got bored, grabbing his phone and drifting away to his favorite songs.

As he sat back and bobbed his head to the music however, he failed to see a white-robed guard fly passed the windshield and only jerked up when the gem blasted a hole into the hull of the ship! "Hey, what're you –," Goten turned around and immediately ducked as the gem woman fired a laser from her spear and blew up the cockpit, causing the ship to erupt into flames!

Trunks stopped in his tracks and turned to see a massive fire in the trees where he'd left Goten. "What the hell?" He quickly flew back to the ship.

Goten squinted through the fires and jumped out of the way as another guard shoved a spear at him, quickly grabbing the staff and punching him in the gut, sending him flying out of the vessel. Rising into the air, Goten looked around and panicked as the ship was in pieces and screamed in pain as a larger ship fired at him from above, driving him into the earth!

Goten tumbled on the ground and rolled to a stop, looking up to see several white-robed gems rushing at him with two large ships behind them. "Well, Trunks' gonna be mad."

Goten engaged the attackers, kicking two aside swiftly and firing a ki blast at three others up ahead, causing an explosion that knocked several more behind them off their feet! He smirked and bounced in place, dismissing his enemies when a large six-legged beast bashed him from behind, sending him flying through a tree! The rider raised her arm and summoned more creatures from the forest, surrounding the saiyan from all sides.

Goten looked around in a panic, wondering what to do next as nearly 50 guards and beasts and a ship above immediately swarmed around him and blocked his means of escape. "Final Flash!" Trunks yelled and unleashed a massive blast of energy that blazed through half of the attackers, revealing himself as he rushed toward Goten in his Super Saiyan form. "What the hell did you do?"

"I don't know, they just came outta nowhere!" Goten said as he got to his feet.

"You weren't keeping watch, were you?"

"Is this really the time to start lecturing me?" Goten snapped at him then frowned as the gems that were hit quickly healed their wounds. "This's bad."

"If we fight them, we'll draw more attention to ourselves and if we just escape, the entire city will be on alert if they aren't already." Trunks said.

"What do we do then?"

Trunks sifted his mind when a massive portal opened beneath them and began rapidly sucking the gems and beasts into it, nearly pulling him and Goten along with them! The two saiyans quickly ascended into the air and watched in awe as the gateway swallowed their enemies and vanished, leaving the forest immediately quiet as it was before the attack. They looked at each other in surprise when a purple van flew toward them, confusing them as they heard people inside quarrelling.

"Why'd you use the portal generator? You used up a huge chunk of the ship's power!" A female voice yelled.

"Well, we wanted to help them right? What else was I supposed to do?" A man responded.

"You were supposed to sit back and let me handle it! For crying out loud, it's like dealing with an infant!"

"Hey, you should respect your elders, young lady."

"I am much older than you, human!" The girl snapped back.

"Huh?"

The girl groaned and opened the door. "Hey, you two need a ride? The human says you're most likely friendlies." Peridot said.

"Don't worry, I'm a Plumber!" Greg called out from inside the vehicle.

Trunks and Goten looked at each other curiously.

* * *

LOUD CRASHES and bubbling sounds emanated from a massive abyss on the monster planet that stretched out for several meters, a pit so wide that the bottom was invisible to Steven as he looked into it. Frowning as the noises continued to echo; he stepped back and turned to Gwen. "Is this where the energy signature you were talking about is?"

"Yes." Gwen said.

"What the hell is even down there?" Ben chucked a rock into the hole, listening for it to hit the bottom.

"Yeah, and what exactly dug this all up?" Kevin looked around at the huge mounds of rock and soil that lay around the pit.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's very powerful." Gwen answered.

Ben squinted, surprise spreading on his face. "It still hasn't hit the bottom."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find out what's down there." Steven said, immediately jumping down.

At the bottom of the abyss, several Mosslings clawed against the rock frantically, tirelessly digging further and further underground as they headed for the planet's core. A few feet above them was a dark being with pure black skin that hovered above them, his eyes set below at his underlings as they followed his psychic orders. He was Black Diamond.


	21. Home World Ch3 - New Gems

**HOME WORLD**

**Chapter 3: New Gems**

THE TWO suns slowly set on the capital of Region White, the bustling city not dropping a beat as its streets were lively as ever, only changing into a medley of color as the city lights came on. The tour of the science facility Sapphire and Lapis were in slowly came to a close, the two women lagging behind as the visitors took their leave and taking a last look around the building.

"This's a bad idea." Sapphire said to Lapis telepathically. "If we let one of our thoughts slip out, we'll get spotted and surrounded."

"We have to find out what else White Diamond is up to." Lapis replied. "Jasper's armies are gone and the last thing we want is to get caught off-guard by another one of the Diamond's secret weapons."

Sapphire paused for a bit. "So how do we do this?"

"Neither of us can create clones like Pearl, so we have to get away from the tour group ourselves." Lapis said and then glanced around. "How good are you at shape-shifting?"

"You read my mind." Sapphire smiled.

Making sure the hovering screen was nowhere nearby, the two gems squeezed their way to the center of the tour group so they were surrounded, all the while shrinking their height until they were half as tall. Once they were completely shrouded amongst the others, they transformed into small pools of water and maneuvered their way between the other gems' feet, leaving the room they were in.

Lapis and Sapphire made their way into a nearby corridor, the latter shape-shifting back into her normal state, and Lapis moved her way up the walls, placing several small black balls along the ceiling. Sapphire looked on curiously as Lapis turned back to her original form and she looked to the devices above as lights flickered from them.

"What're those?"

"I don't know how they work exactly, but they're scramblers made by Helio that put security cameras through loops so we aren't spotted." Lapis said.

"Well, it's a good thing they didn't upgrade them these past three years." Sapphire said.

"Come on, let's try and search this place quickly; they'll figure out something's wrong eventually."

With that, the two raced around the halls, glancing from room to room with X-Ray vision and seeing nothing of note except for gems being fitted with robotic limbs. It began to puzzle Lapis the more she thought about it: why would the Diamonds fit gems with cybernetic enhancements when they have high-level regeneration and affinity for magic? Her thoughts were cut short when they came across a room emitting a powerful energy signature and were unable to see through its walls.

Sapphire moved up to the door and placed her hand on it, sensing a sealing spell on it and slowly unlocking it. Breaking the seal, she looked to Lapis and received a nod from her, hesitantly pressing a button adjacent to the door and waiting for it to slide open. The two looked into the room and saw a large round assembly room with several platforms that descended to a floor where multiple large glass pods were lined up before a massive screen.

The two looked at the white-robed Agates that roamed the room and transformed to look like them, moving to the lower floors to get a better look at what was going on while keeping a safe distance.

"So, this's the last week till we stop production of organic gems, huh?" One Agate said to another. "I wonder if we'll get assigned to the AI gem assembly line or somewhere else."

"Ah, I don't give a fuck honestly." The gem next to him stretched out. "Anywhere without the damn annoying shrieks of pain is fine with me."

Sapphire raised her brow upon overhearing them and a large door to her right swung open and from it came several tall Topazes that dragged red-skinned goblins with flaming hair by chains and led them toward the pods. The goblins lashed out in anger, desperately trying to break free and the Topazes shocked them with electric rods, forcing them one by one into the pods lined up at the center of the room.

Metal harnesses bound the goblins as the glass chambers activated and small robotic hands carrying gemstones materialized from the outer casing, drawing closer to the creatures. The pods scanned the goblins and the automated hands shoved the gemstones into their bodies, drawing screams of pain as the crystals burrowed their way into their flesh! Sapphire frowned as she saw the goblins thrash about in pain; her curiosity rising as a blue liquid slowly filled containment units, completely submerging the captives within.

The screams and rumbling slowly died down as the liquid covered them and Lapis watched closely, failing to see what was going on inside. A short silence fell when the pods suddenly flew open, releasing thick clouds of steam as the goblins slowly sat up, each disoriented as they looked around. Sapphire stepped back in horror as she saw that they had been completely transformed into Carnelians, a fact they slowly realized themselves as they felt a pulsation from the gemstones permanently embedded in their bodies!

The new gems began to panic when tubes shot out from the pods they sat in and pierced into the back of their necks, instantly throwing them into a trance-like state as they looked to the large screen at the end of the room. The display came on, drawing Lapis and Sapphire's attention to a video of Blue Diamond, the goddess' face immediately sending shivers up Sapphire's spine as she looked downward condescendingly, almost as if she could see her.

"Welcome my children to your new home. I am Blue Diamond, the god of this world, but you will refer to me now as Mother." Blue Diamond began. "Your lives have been elevated from a futile aimless existence to one of ultimate purpose, to serve me and my sisters, the Diamonds."

* * *

STEVEN SKIDDED along the side of the abyss and came to a stop, dusting his hands and looking downward, still not seeing the bottom. He huffed and prepared to move along when Kevin crashed down on a rock on a wall opposite from him and Gwen, Starfire and Ben, who had turned into Jetray, flew down toward them.

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Steven asked.

"Well, unlike you, we tried to assess what we were getting into before blindly diving into a pitch black abyss." Kevin said.

"The energy I'd sensed before is getting weaker, so wherever it's coming from must be going further underground." Gwen said.

"That's good then; if the signal gets stronger, then we're close to our target." Jetray said, descending further.

"Wait …" Starfire said. "Does anyone else hear something?"

Steven and the others fell silent as they tried to listen when tremors rippled through the pit's walls, drawing their attention downward where an orange light grew brighter and brighter! "What is that?" Jetray raised his brow.

"Get back!" Gwen cried as a pillar of lava burst from beneath them and shot to the surface above! Ben quickly transformed into Heatblast and manipulated the rocks around him, creating a protective cocoon around him, Gwen and Kevin. Gwen looked around. "Where're Steven and Starfire?"

"The must be on the other side of the blast." Heatblast said.

The cocoon rumbled and Kevin looked down to see the rocks slowly burn, quickly placing his hands on the wall behind him and absorbing it. "Follow me!" He tore a hole into the wall and created a tunnel, leading the two through and sealing it behind them.

On the other side of the blast, Steven struggled against the heat and rush of the lava geyser as he tried to keep his light shield up. Starfire reacted quickly and blew a hole into the wall behind her, grabbing Steven and tossing him into the tunnel, causing his shield to drop. She took hold of the roof of the tunnel and pulled the rocks down; causing a landslide that sealed the lava on the side.

"Well, looks like we're on our own on this one." Steven got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Yeah, Starfire huffed and landed on the ground. "I can still sense the others so at least we know they're fine." She turned to him. "We should be careful with how we proceed from here, if we make a wrong turn, we could cause more lava to spew out."

"The Moss must've made it to the planet's core already then."

"Then we have to hurry." Starfire walked off.

Steven followed the Tamaranean through the cave, hearing the lava ejection slowly die down behind them, and tried to think of where to start digging from when he saw a green liquid rise around his feet. "What the?"

Before he could react, the liquid quickly spread around his leg and began to engulf his body! Starfire tried to come to his aid when a Mossling emerged behind her and grabbed her by the neck, driving her into the ground below! The woman threw the creature off her and incinerated it with an energy blast, rising into the air when three more Mosslings massed around her!

Steven unleashed his aura and burned the liquid off him, charging energy through his fist and punching the ground below, causing it to break apart and sending him and Starfire into a free fall! Starfire blasted the creatures off her and looked down to see a gigantic swarm off Mosslings climbing their way up the abyss toward them!

Steven raised his hand above his head and channeled an energy ball in his palm, chucking the sphere down which split into a volley of blasts that rained on the monsters below, burning them in a series of blasts that dug further into the ground! Slapping her hands together, Starfire fired a green photon beam at the remaining Mosslings, giving the finishing blow and burning them all to bits!

Steven and Starfire landed at the bottom of the hole they dug and found themselves in pitch-blackness. Forging another light orb in his hands, the gem-human lit their way and turned to the Tamaranean. "The signature seems stronger here."

"You've gotten so strong these past few months, Steven." Starfire walked up to him. "I bet we could take out hostile aliens easily with you on the team again."

"Yeah, I guess." He said. "I dunno if I'm gonna join back with you guys again though."

"What if I want you back?" Starfire placed a hand on his cheek.

"Uh, well –,"

Starfire pressed her lips against his and cut him off, holding his face with both hands and pressing her body against his as she moved closer to him. She pulled back while biting his lower lip, seeing the surprised look on his face and she smiled at him. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you." Starfire floated away, leaving the room. "It's your choice." Steven watched her leave and sifted his mind, not noticing the pieces of Moss slowly reforming behind them.

Elsewhere in the underground, a massive explosion ripped through a wall of the abyss, sending Gwen, Kevin and Feedback crashing hard on the ground and skidding to a stop. "Ben, what the fuck was that?" Kevin growled as he got up.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know how much energy the Moss had absorbed before we fought them?" Feedback said.

"The point was to take them out quickly without drawing attention to ourselves? What if we ended up drawing Black Diamond's attention or ended up destabilizing the planet's core even more!?" Kevin yelled.

"Look, I was just –,"

"Uh, guys." Gwen said, drawing their attention to a large hole she stood before.

Ben and Kevin moved up to her and grew apprehensive as they saw Black Diamond below watching a group of Mosslings digging through molten lava. "I guess he hasn't noticed us yet." Kevin said.

"They're trying to get to the core, probably to absorb its energy." Gwen said. "How do we do this, Ben?" She looked to the brunette-haired man who remained silent.

* * *

"OKAY, SO let me get this straight." Trunks said as he roamed the RV he, Goten, Greg and Peridot were in as it flew in cloaking and on autopilot. "You're part of a group of Home World rebels called the Crystal Gems who're trying to fight the Diamonds and free your people, and you're a retired plumber."

"Not a regular plumber." Greg said.

"Right." Trunks stroked his chin. "Why're you called Crystal Gems?"

"Sounds like some Sailor Moon shit." Goten sat back by a window seat.

"Hey, that was a good show." Greg said, getting an eye-roll from Goten.

"Look, going head on against the Diamonds is suicide." Trunks said.

"We don't have a choice now, this's our last chance or it's all over." Peridot said. "The Diamonds have taken so much from us and our kind; we can't just let them get away with this."

"Well, what's your plan exactly? Do you have an army? Are you being backed by the Nova Corp or something?" Trunks asked.

Peridot huffed. "Our armies got wiped out before we arrived here and we don't know where our partners are."

Trunks frowned in disbelief and Goten scoffed. "Well, you're all fucked."

"Okay, let me think." Trunks paced for a bit. "Okay, we're on a mission to save two saiyan women who're being held in that city over there, so how's about we join forces? You help us maneuver this place since you know more about it than we do and we offer our strength in a fight until we find the women."

"Wait, you want to get in that city?" Peridot looked out the window. "That's the home of White Diamond; you'll die if you get caught."

Goten burst into laughter. "This shit's crazy, man."

Trunks huffed. "Well, I guess we're gonna have to take the risk."

"Wait, what? No, no, I'm not risking my life for some girls; you're on your own." Goten said.

"This isn't just about some girls; this's about fulfilling the mission and helping where we can." Trunks said. "We're Avengers and saving lives is what it's –,"

"Whoa, whoa, look, I just joined 'cause bitches love superheroes – I'm not gonna die fighting some galactic goddess."

"I thought you didn't care about the Diamonds before." Trunks said.

"Dude, you can literally feel her energy all the way from here! That's probably higher than my dad and last time we checked, we couldn't keep up with him while sparring – hell, we can't even match your dad."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Trunks frowned.

"Alright, alright, we'll help you with this." Peridot said. "As much as I don't want to get anywhere near a Diamond right now, we don't know where the others are and if they're in Region White, we should find out."

"Thank you." Trunks smiled then turned to Goten. "Come on, man, are you really gonna back out at the last second?"

Goten thought for a bit then huffed. "Alright, fuck it, let's do this."

* * *

BIG CHILL phased through a wall and hovered above Black Diamond and his horde of Mosslings, looking closely as they continued to dig up lava that bubbled beneath the rocks. "We're gonna have to separate Black Diamond from his horde before we strike; we don't know how strong he is exactly and the Moss will only get in the way." Big Chill said via an earpiece.

"And how do we do that?" Kevin asked on the other end.

"Follow my lead and cover me." Big Chill said, tapping his watch and transforming into Way Big and crashing onto Black Diamond with a punch!

"That idiot." Gwen frowned.

Way Big stood up and threw a kick at Black Diamond when the Diamond blocked his leg, stopping him in his tracks! "What the!?" Way Big backed up in shock.

A dark shadow erupted from Black Diamond and shot up to Way Big's face, washing over him and burning his entire body, forcing him to the ground! The Moss saw this and rushed toward Way Big when a wall of earth shot up around the giant alien, blocking their path. Jumping into the pit, Kevin and Gwen came to Way Big's aid with Kevin engaging the Mosslings and Gwen summoning a spell to attack Black Diamond from behind.

Gwen shot a wave of fire at Black Diamond and he teleported away, summoning Moss from beneath the ground to bind Way Big and more to wrap around Gwen's legs and yank her to the ground. The Diamond reappeared at the pool of lava and released a green liquid from his palms, creating more Mosslings that quickly returned to digging. Ben transformed into Goop and tried to escape the Moss, but immediately was surrounded again by the green entity that slowly began tearing into the Omnitrix!

Black Diamond watched as his minions dug further and he backed away as an earthquake ripped through the pit, sending a massive crack that split the area in half and caused more lava to spew to the surface! The shaking knocked Kevin off his feet, leaving him open for the monsters to swarm over him and tried to beak way, seeing Gwen completely covered from head to toe and nearly submerged into the ground!

The Moss slowly absorbed the three plumbers, sapping them off their energy when Steven burst through the roof and tackled Black Diamond, digging him further into the earth and breaking a hole through the floor, driving him further underground! Following soon after, Starfire flew into the center of the room and unleashed a blast of energy from her body that tore through the Moss throughout the room, allowing Kevin, Gwen and Ben to break out.

Ben quickly transformed into Big Chill as he freed himself and he released a breath of ice at the lava that was spewing out, cooling it instantly! "Black Diamond just reached the planet's core!" Big Chill said. "If we don't stabilize it, the planet will die."

"I'm on it." Starfire shot through the ground and came up to the gigantic molten core which burned several feet away from her, raising her hand and channeling energy through it. "Alright, try not to blow up on me."

* * *

GREG LOOKED across the street and watched three white-robed gem guards moving down a sidewalk in the Region White capital, quickly looking away to avoid behind noticed as he walked alongside Trunks, Goten and Peridot. "Yup, they're patrolling the streets."

"Yeah, no shit, this's the home of a Diamond; security's always high." Peridot said.

"In that case, why don't we just skip sneaking around and just fight these guys." Goten said, tugging at the new robes he wore. "I freaking hate these clothes."

"Have you been listening to anything we've been talking about these past few hours?" Trunks asked.

"Nope."

"You fucking –,"

"Are you sure these disguises will fool the gems in this city?" Greg asked Peridot as he touched the false gemstone on his palm.

"Yes, how do you think we're able to walk around in the open like this?" Peridot asked then frowned. "Wait, why're you asking me this?"

"Just wait up for me."

"What're you doing?" Peridot asked as Greg crossed the street.

Peridot tried her hardest not to scream as Greg went to the three guards and started talking to them, biting her tongue as he led them into a nearby alleyway. She squinted as she couldn't see what was going on and a few moments later, Greg reemerged and went down the street nonchalantly, rejoining her and the two saiyans at a small bridge down the street.

"What the hell did you just do?" Peridot asked.

"I took out the guards and stole one of their holo-maps of the city." Greg said, holding two gemstones on one hand and a blue disc in the other.

"Whoa, you beat them down that quickly?" Goten asked.

"Hell no, I wouldn't stand a chance in a fight." Greg pocketed the gemstones and discreetly showed them a gun holstered in his jacket. "The Plumbers figured out a way to short out gemstones long ago, although it's still hard to find them and get to them during a fight – luckily those guards had them on their chests or I'd be dead right now."

Peridot looked at Greg in surprise as he laughed then she smiled at him. "I guess I underestimated you, Greg; that was impressive."

"Like I told you, respect your elders." Greg walked off.

"I'm older than you!" Peridot yelled.

"Hey, you want us to get caught? Keep it down." Greg said, infuriating the girl.

* * *

NALAR LOOKED across a small desert a few kilometers from the Slave Village that was now underground as he walked beside Ruby, having a hard time seeing through other light spectrums as his energy waned. He hid this from Ruby however as they went on, quietly sensing the dread and confusion in the red woman as she had remained silent for a while.

Hesitantly, he finally spoke. "Are you alright?"

"How am I supposed to be alright? All those people died and I couldn't do anything to stop it." Ruby huffed. "We couldn't even help Carnelian."

"Well, we can't cry every time we fail." Nalar chuckled. "Otherwise we'd be crying all day."

"How can you say that?" Ruby growled at him.

"What? We're rubies! We fail and fail and keep pretending we can do shit and guess what? We can't."

"What's wrong with you?! Everyone in the village just died and you're trying to joke about it."

"Yeah, yeah, who freaking –," Nalar tried to say when he fell over.

"Whoa, what happened?" She came to his side.

"No, no, I'm fine." He said. "I just tripped."

"You keep falling every few steps." Ruby frowned. "What're you hiding from me? You're not wounded, but you can barely walk."

"I told you I'm fine." Nalar said when electricity sputtered out of his body, causing him to buckle and cough out a lot of blood!

"Nalar!" She knelt beside him, seeing him shudder and fall over. "Nalar, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I –," Nalar sighed. "Who am I fooling?"

"What happened to you?" Ruby said. "Your energy level's low even for a ruby, you're weirdly light for your size and now this."

Nalar frowned and wiped the blood from his mouth. "Well, it looks like I don't have much time left after all."

"What do you mean?"

"Just try not to freak out." Nalar hissed in pain and slowly pulled his eye-patch back, revealing a hole beneath that held the remaining bits of a shattered gemstone!

"What the hell?!" Ruby backed up, nearly falling over in shock.

"I was shattered a few years ago and I guess my timer's running out." Nalar said. "I'm gonna need your help."

* * *

SAPPHIRE AND Lapis, still disguised as Agates, stepped out of the gemification lab and into the hallway, the Diamond running her hand through her hair as she finally learned how gems were created. She now realized what the Crystal Gems had probably gone through, how their lives were taken away from them, how she could never understand their suffering. Questions soon flooded through her mind, among them being who the Crystal Gems were before the Diamonds turned them into gems.

Her thoughts were cut short when an Agate called to them. "Hey, you two, we need extra hands to log in the new gems in lab three!"

"W-we're on it." Lapis answered, looking to Sapphire to make sure she was okay, and she followed the Agate.

The two blue women followed the gem handler down the halls into a Gemification Lab on another floor, wondering what was going on as it had much larger doors than the one they came from. They entered the room, seeing it as merely a larger assembly room when their attention was taken by a massive glass ball full of water that hovered in the ceiling with many tubes that were connected to glass pods that held gems inside. They were curious as to what was going on when Lapis recognized the gems that were inside!

"Alright, let's wrap this up and take these Lazulis to programming." The lead Agate in the facility said. "Once they're operational, we can begin wide scale terraformation of planets in the next solar system."


	22. Home World Ch4 - Rubytopia

**HOME WORLD**

**Chapter 4 - Rubytopia**

RUBY'S HEART pounded in her chest as she looked at the pieces of shattered gemstone in Nalar's eye socket and she searched her mind, trying to compose herself. "H-how? How did this happen? You're not supposed to be alive without a gemstone."

Nalar chuckled weakly. "A few years ago while I was under Pink Diamond's command, the rubies in our squad and I were sent on a mission to take out rebel gems that were hiding outside the main city whom we were told were remnants of the Crystal Gems. We succeeded and killed many gems, but over time, I began to realize that they were increasingly weaker than us and some didn't even put up a fight." He sat up, trying and failing to heal his wounds. "I did some digging and soon discovered that Pink and the other Diamonds were having us kill off weak gems they had cast aside from all around Home World, soldier and civilian alike. They deemed them unworthy of living because of how weak they were and thought that if they just killed them, they could absorb their energy and use it to power their new creations, though I never found out what they were."

"So, you tried to rebel against her …" Ruby realized.

"Nobody would believe me, they believed everything a Diamond said and I couldn't stand by, even if I was alone." Nalar huffed. "But I never stood a chance; she took me out in seconds and just like other gems deemed unworthy, my squad and I were cast aside to the Slave Village. Some of the rubies realized I was telling the truth and we banded together to be the last line of defense for when Pink Diamond would send more gems to take us out, but we never knew about the Moss until it was too late."

Nalar laughed. "I was never strong, even among the rubies, I was a failure; a waste of a soldier. I hoped every day that I'd have the power to stand out, something to show that I was just as good as the others, but then the power I discovered was a mutation that allowed me to live longer than anyone else just so I could watch my friends die while I did nothing. I'm worthless."

"That's for you to decide." Ruby said, moving up to him. "We're not as strong as the Diamonds want us to be, but we're as strong as we need to. We choose how to live our lives, not them." She held her hand out to him. "I'm not gonna let you die here."

"You don't even know me."

"Yeah, but I'm gonna help you anyway." Ruby helped him stand. "Now, come on, I bet we can find a way to fix this."

He laughed softly. "I guess I can give it one more try …" He stepped away from her and walked on his own though limping. "There's an old friend of mine called Sphalerite who lives near here; she's a mage of sorts who always talked about trying to find a way to free us from our gemstones. If anyone can help me, it's her."

"Then let's go find her." Ruby draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk onward. Nalar looked at her in confusion then smiled softly, letting her help him as they continued through the desert.

* * *

EXPLOSIONS RIPPED through the roof of a cave and through the rocks came Steven who flung Black Diamond into the earth, ripping a hole into the ground apart! The Diamond punched Steven off him and slammed his hand against the earth, spreading his shadow throughout the tunnel and shrouding it in darkness! Steven's eyes glowed and he looked through the pitch black, confused as the Diamond completely disappeared when a dark hand grabbed his neck from behind and dragged him into the ground!

Steven fought against the pull when Black Diamond reformed before him and grabbed his face, spreading his darkness over him and draining his energy! He felt his body wane as he lost control, his arms falling limp at his side, when a sword made of light impaled Black Diamond from behind, causing his shadows to instantly disappear and forcing him to let go of Steven! The Diamond yanked the weapon out of his chest and turned to see Gwen and Ben stepping out of a portal, the redheaded sorceress waving her arms in an arc and summoning three magical crystals that floated around her.

"We've gotta be careful here." Gwen summoned her spell book beside her. "If his shadows get a hold of you, he'll absorb all your energy."

"Yeah, I learned the hard way." Steven slowly got to his feet.

"Well, I guess we've gotta be a little more tactful here." Ben said, scrolling through the aliens in his watch.

Gwen thrust her hand forward and the light crystals released a powerful light throughout the tunnel, causing Black Diamond to withdraw in pain. Reacting quickly, the black humanoid send his shadows out at the sorceress when Steven blasted him with a photon beam from behind, driving him into the earth. Summoning a light shield, he rushed at the Diamond when a shadow wave washed over him and drove him through a nearby wall, blasting him out of the room!

Gwen erected a magical shield before her and the crystals, holding the shadows off on the other side! She struggled against the force when a strip of Moss burst out of the ground, tearing right through two of the crystals, dimming the light that weakened Black Diamond! The Moss spread toward the last crystal, ready to destroy it as well when Diamondhead grabbed the stone and absorbed it, turning his whole body white and causing him to blaze with energy!

"Ha, perfect!" The alien clenched his fist.

Charging forward, Diamondhead shot out large crystals from his palms that impaled into the ground and released their light all around, burning the Moss nearby and causing them to wither away! Dropping her light shield, Gwen flew toward Black Diamond who picked an injured Steven out of a hole in the wall about to absorb his energy! Reacting quickly, the sorceress summoned multiple magical binds made of light that wrapped around the Diamond and Diamondhead stabbed him in the chest, raising him into the air and smashing him against the ground!

Black Diamond unleashed a burst of shadow out of his body, knocking Diamondhead aside and rolled to his feet, engaging the three Plumbers as they attacked him from all sides! The Diamond dodged energy blasts from Steven and Diamondhead and sent them flying with a wave of dark, failing to notice a magic circle created by Gwen beneath him that blasted him with a beam of light that washed over him and scorched his body! He writhed in pain and Gwen smashed him against the ground with a swing of a magic staff she summoned and she took a fight pose, standing over him as Ben and Steven got to their feet.

"Is he down?" Steven asked.

"Not likely." Gwen said.

Black Diamond shoved his hand forth and directed a surge of shadow at the three and Gwen stabbed her staff into the ground, sending out pulse that electrocuted him! The Diamond hovered off the ground and Diamondhead erected a crystal spike that impaled him, burning him from the inside! The Diamond escaped again, breaking the crystal, and he unleashed a dark aura around himself when Steven flew up toward him and shoved an energy ball into his gut, causing an explosion that drove him further into the ground and nearly caused the tunnel to collapse on them!

Black Diamond quickly rose to his feet and conjured more Moss from beneath Diamondhead, Gwen and Steven, binding them and he summoned more darkness around him. He staggered as he moved, badly wounded, and he prepared to give the final blow when the room suddenly rumbled. Tremors rippled through the roof of the tunnel and the Diamond looked up only to get blasted with a gigantic energy beam that tore the tunnel apart, nearly blinding the three Plumbers as he was smashed down further into the ground!

Steven squinted through the dust cloud that filled the cave and looked to see Black Diamond lying in a pile of rubble up ahead. He looked to the giant hole in the roof where the blast came from and he grinned as he saw Starfire descend into the room. "Whoa, where'd all that power come from?" He moved up to her.

The orange woman panted, "Oh, hey, Steven." She landed before the three. "The planet's core nearly exploded, so I absorbed some of its energy, and I needed to let it out." She wiped sweat off her brow, turning to Black Diamond. "Is that the guy?"

"Yeah." Diamondhead fired a crystal into Black Diamond, causing him to crumble and burn away.

"It's finally over." Steven said, slumping on a wall and catching his breath.

"Wait, where's Kevin?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, he's still up there fighting the Moss." Starfire pointed upward.

"What?"

* * *

SAND CRUNCHED beneath the feet of the two rubies as they traveled the wastelands on the outskirts of Region Pink, the red woman and the dying man growing weary as they'd walked for what felt like hours without a soul in sight. Ruby looked to Nalar whom she aided as they walked, worried as he was becoming slower and it was harder for him to go on the longer they proceeded. Her mind clouded with worry when she bumped into something that nearly knocked her and Nalar over.

"What the …?" Ruby looked forward and saw nothing before her.

She reached out and felt something flat though she couldn't see anything, slowly stepping back as she heard garbled voices muttering all around her. The voices sounded distant yet close at the same time, the sounds of two people who were arguing somehow coming from all sides around her simultaneously!

"What is this?" Nalar looked around curiously.

"Uh, hello? Is someone there?" Ruby asked nervously.

"Shit, they heard us!" A female voice came.

"I told to soundproof this fucking thing!" A male voice said then huffed. "Alright then."

A bright light flashed before Ruby and Nalar and a massive crab-shaped ship slowly materialized out of thin air, revealing a small group of rubies that set up camp around it! Ruby looked at the settlement in confusion, her attention quickly shifting to two twelve foot tall rubies that walked toward her, startling her as they each had large weapons strapped on their backs and wore alien armor she didn't recognize.

"Sorry about that, my dumbass sister Litter was supposed to patch up the ship's cloaking." The male ruby said.

"Hey, it's not my fault, Twig; Litter Jr. was hungry!" The female ruby whined, patting the head of a giant black wolf with wings on its back that walked up to her.

"Ugh." Twig rolled his eyes.

"What's going on here? What is this place?" Nalar asked.

"Oh, how rude of me." Litter blushed in embarrassment, spinning around and gesturing to the large ship and the rubies that roamed around it. "This is Rubytopia! The settlement of the last rubies of Home World!"

"The last?" Ruby said.

"Huh? Where've you two been?" Litter chuckled. "Yeah, a few years ago White Diamond passed an order to shatter every ruby living in the Inner cities."

"The Diamonds deemed us unworthy and inefficient in combat, so they wanted to replace us with these 'AI' ruby, whatever that means." Twig said. "So, Litter and I gathered up every ruby we could find in Region White, stole this ship and tried to get off world."

"But, we couldn't get past the security outposts around the planet, so we stopped here." Litter said. "We at least figured out how to expand the ship's cloaking after tinkering around for a bit though and we've hid out here so the Diamond's forces wouldn't find us."

"And those bastards never will! A ruby nearby yelled.

"Yeah!" Another chimed in.

"Heh, you had better luck than I did, huh? Nobody listened to me when I said shi –" Nalar tried to say when electricity sputtered out of his body, forcing him down to his knees!

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Litter moved up to Nalar.

"He's injured and we're trying to find someone who can help heal him." Ruby explained.

Litter knelt beside Nalar and held his shoulder, reading his aura. "Well, he won't make it far with energy this low." She looked to Ruby. "What kind of injury saps your life force?"

"It's … complicated." Ruby said.

Litter squinted at Ruby, wondering if she was hiding something, and she drew out a small round charm from her pocket, holding it up to Nalar. "I'll share some of my energy with him, but it's only a small measure; he'll need more than this." She placed her free hand on Nalar's chest, emitting a dim light from her arm as she began the spell.

"Why don't you two stay here a while? There's plenty room here for fellow rubies." Twig offered.

Ruby sifted her mind and looked at the other rubies that filled the encampment, a gentle smile spreading on her face as she spotted a mother and father playing with their younglings. She thought this over.

* * *

KEVIN CRASHED onto a Mossling with a heavy fist, ripping through its chest and tearing its body apart, and Gwen delivered the final blow with a magical blast, causing the entity's body to collapse and turn to dust! Panting, Kevin looked around the underground room he, Gwen, Ben, Starfire and Steven were in, finally letting out a sigh of relief as he saw the Moss crumbling away. "That's the last of 'em." He creaked his neck. "Those bastards sure packed a punch."

"Yeah, but what's important is that this planet's safe now." Gwen said. "We can report this in to HQ and find out where else the Moss might be."

"Sounds like a plan." Ben said, transforming back from Diamondhead to his normal form.

"Yeah, and it's gonna be even easier now that the crew's back together, right Steven?" Starfire turned to Steven who knelt before a dying Mossling. "Steven …?"

Kevin squinted then frowned, moving up to the man. "Hey, what're you doing back there? If it absorbs your energy, the Moss will revive and …" He stopped as he got closer. "Huh …?"

"Steven?" Starfire came to his side, confused as he saw tears streaming down his face.

Steven trembled as he lay his hand on the Mossling, failing to compose himself. "The Moss, it's … my people."

"What?" Gwen asked.

"It's made up of souls of fallen gems, all driven by grief and madness." Steven said. "Hundreds, thousands of them …" The Mossling he laid his hand on disintegrated and he clenched his fist shakily, turning to Starfire as she squeezed his hand gently.

"I'm so sorry, Steven." Starfire said and Kevin placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him as well.

Steven looked to Ben and Gwen as they came up to him and he wiped his tears, rising to his feet. "We'll put a stop to this, Steven, I promise." Ben said.

"If only there was a way to track them all down." Gwen said. "I thought Black Diamond was the source, but I guess I was wrong."

"It won't stop unless we get to the source." Steven said, looking to Starfire. "I'll come back to the Plumbers, but I'll need your help."

* * *

RUBY WATCHED as ruby younglings ran past her while she sat beside the large ship, smiling as Litter Jr., the giant winged wolf, sniffed her and she petted his snout. "Seems he's taken a liking to you." Twig said as he walked up to her. "Litter's not gonna like that."

"Well, I'm not much of a pet person." Ruby replied then recoiled as the wolf licked her face. "Oh, come on!" She quickly got up and wiped the slobber off her face, gaining a laugh from Twig, and she stopped as she heard footsteps coming from the ship, turning to see Litter walking out of it. "How is he?"

"He should be able to continue walking for a bit, but he'll need a lot more treatment than this." Litter got off the ship, giving way to Nalar who disembarked as well.

"Thank you so much." Ruby moved up to her. "I don't know any healing magic, so I'd be at a loss here if it weren't for your help."

"Yes, thank you." Nalar said.

"Oh, it's no problem really." Litter smiled.

"Are you sure you can't stay at all, even for a night?" Twig asked.

"We have to keep moving, and so do you." Nalar said.

"What do you mean?" Litter asked.

"The Moss are coming." Ruby said. "They destroyed a village a few hours from here and it won't be long before they find their way here."

"You have to escape while you can." Nalar added.

Twig looked at the other rubies then scoffed. "Nah, we can take 'em."

"What?" Ruby frowned.

"Yeah, we're no pushovers." Litter added. "We can hold our own in a fight."

"Didn't you hear us? They destroyed an entire village a few hours ago." Nalar repeated.

"We heard you and we said we can handle it." Twig crossed his arms. "How do you think we managed to escape Region White anyway?"

"You don't understand; we're just rubies, we can't –," Ruby said then cut herself off, frowning. "… You … you can do it."

"What?" Nalar turned to her.

"You can take them on." Ruby said. "Just be careful."

"We should be saying that to you, shortstack." Litter said with a smile. "Just come by whenever you can."

"You'll know where to find us." Twig said. "We're not going anywhere."

Ruby nodded. "Thank you for everything." She turned to Nalar. "Come on, let's go."

Ruby and Nalar walked away from Twig and Litter, waving goodbye before the camp disappeared under the ship's cloaking. Nalar stared at Ruby as he followed her, wondering what was going through her mind and failing to understand her reasoning for enabling the others. He slowed down however and looked underneath his jacket, seeing his side slowly crumbling into dust! Glancing at Ruby, he buttoned his top and continued on after her.

* * *

"NO FOOD, no booze, no internet and no guys for a hundred miles, now that's some bullshit." Amethyst groaned as she walked through a forest on the outskirts of Region White. "Right Lion?"

Lion looked at her blankly then walked off. "Oh, right, you're a guy." Amethyst said as the animal moved past her. "Wait, are you a guy? I don't know how animals work really." Lion glanced at her than continued on. "Oh, right, you're not _actually_ a lion, I forgot." She chuckled and the gem remained silent. "Come on, at least nod or something! We've been walking for almost a day now; I can't keep talking to myself."

Lion ignored her and kept going, annoying the purple woman as she followed him, coming to a clearing and seeing the bright lights of the inner city in the distance contrasting against the night sky. "Oh fuck, oh fuck – uh, Lion, let's try going somewhere else." She u-turned and took another path when she realized Lion had remained behind. "Lion?"

Amethyst looked to the animal that looked at the city blankly and she moved up to him when she sensed a familiar energy signature, her eyes dilating as she instantly recognized who it was. Running off, the purple woman made her way through the bushes and between trees, sliding down a small hill and coming to a stop as she felt the source of the presence she felt. She choked up as she saw a small group of three amethysts, a tanzanite and a beryl seated by a campfire and discussing amongst themselves.

"The Famethyst …" She finally realized, moving toward them.

"Alright, so from the information we've analyzed, the city's heavily monitored around the labs which are closer to the center which is where Yellow along with White Diamond most likely are." Beryl said. "When we launch our attack, we …" He froze as he looked up. "Amethyst?"

"Beryl …" Amethyst said, her tears flowing freely, and she ran up to the male gem, hugging him tightly. "I can't believe I found you again!"

"Whoa, it's amethyst!" An amethyst got to her feet, rousing the small group as they recognized their old leader.

"That's her?" Tanzanite raised her brow.

Amethyst pulled back and held Beryl's face in disbelief. "I thought you were dead."

"We were rescued during the attack, but we couldn't find you and the others in time." Beryl said, tearing up as well.

Amethyst stepped away from him and looked to the others, recognizing the amethysts 8XG, 8XJ and 8XL, not noticing Tanzanite who moved up to her. "Oh, hi, I'm new to the group." She held her hand out. "I guess I never got the chance to meet you."

"Oh, hey." Amethyst shook her hand, wiping the tears off her face.

"Amethyst, meet my girlfriend, Tanzanite." Beryl said.

Amethyst's heart sank as she heard this. "Your what? What do you mean girlfriend?"

"Yeah, we met two years ago." Tanzanite said, curious. "Is something wrong?"

"Now who might you be?" A large yellow-skinned man entered the small camp and moved up to Amethyst.

"Oh, you're back." Beryl turned to the man and smiled. "Zenoth, this's our former leader Amethyst." He turned to her. "Amethyst, this's Zenoth, the man who saved us when Home World attacked us and got us separated a century ago."

Amethyst failed to hear anything else being said as her heart pounded in her chest, shifting her glance from Beryl to Tanzanite.

* * *

THE STARS shone brightly over Oval Town, the quiet village awash in a gentle breeze as summer slowly came though, waving through Pearl's hair as she sat at the foot of a tree beside Gen as they gazed at the night sky. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Gen said.

"Yeah …" Pearl said. "It's amazing honestly; I've been to many planets, yet the sky never ceases to astound me." Her smile slowly died. "I never want this to end."

"You can do this any time you want."

"One day I won't be." She said. "We're getting closer to Home World and … I don't know if I'll be able to come back."

"Come on; don't say that, you can do this." He turned to her. "You've come too far just to fail in the end."

"I don't think I can do this." She said, starting to panic. "I can't face her again."

"Pearl, listen to me." Gen held her face. "You are not going to lose. You and the Gems can save Home World and you can come back home." Pearl looked into his eyes and forced a smile, fighting off tears as he held her hand. "There's nothing to fear."

"Pearl." Rose's voice cut sharply through Pearl's thoughts.

SHAKING HER head, Pearl looked around and realized that she was at the foot of the hill outside of the inner city of Region Pink, turning back and seeing Rose standing a few feet behind her. "You miss her don't you?" Rose said.

Pearl squinted and tried to think, turning back and seeing the home of Pink Diamond in the distance. "I don't want to leave …"

"You don't need Pink Diamond, Pearl." Rose moved up to her. "You're free now, free from her."

Pearl looked at Rose then at the city, struggling to choose.

* * *

"UH, PEARL?" Connie asked as she moved up to the pale woman who stood with her on the hill in present day Region Pink, having stared at the inner city for some time. "Pearl, are you okay?"

Pearl looked at the large black tower at the center of the dilapidated and dirty desert town, clenching her fist as she steeled herself. "Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

HORROR SPREAD across Lapis' face as she saw the lazulis lying in their pods in the assembly room in White Diamond's lab in Region White. Flashes of the past quickly filled her mind when the main door into the lab opened, drawing the attention of the other Agates who quickly bowed. "Welcome, Lord Diamond." The Agates said in near unison.

Lapis froze as she heard this, turning to the Diamond who stood at the top of the upper platform, looking down upon them as she studied the room. Rage quickly replaced the fear in Lapis as she looked at the goddess, struggling to cover her emotions as the Diamond came down to the lower platform and looked at the lazulis being created.

"Alright then." White Diamond said. "Let us begin."


	23. Home World Ch5 - Ashes

**HOME WORLD**

**Chapter 5 - Ashes**

A SMILE spread across Blood Quartz' face as he looked into Jasper's eyes, gurgling comfortably as she cradled him in her arms. Helio smiled as he saw how happy Jasper was in that moment, shifting his gaze to a purple planet in the distance and squinting as a sun further behind it shone brightly. Having been in space for a while, the black gem decided to check his gauntlet to see how much oxygen they had left in their suits when he saw a massive orange star-shaped asteroid up ahead that made him freeze up in awe.

"Is that it?" Helio asked, stunned by how massive it was compared to Home World.

Jasper looked up and smiled as she saw the planet. "Yes, it was my home for a time." She hovered up to him. "This is Dragonbloom, land of the Star Dragons."

"The what!?" Helio exclaimed in shock and quickly moved up to her. "The Star Dragons? They're just a myth."

"No, they're real; I've known them for many years."

"But –," Helio quickly composed himself. "How are they so close to Home World when no one has heard of or seen them in millennia? They're supposed to be more powerful than the Diamonds themselves!"

"I know their leader and he left a gateway near Home World only I and others I allowed could enter through." Jasper said, moving toward the planet. "Come, let's go meet my family." Helio raised his brow in surprise as Jasper went on and he followed her, entering the planet together. "The Star Dragons are celestial beings who live on Dragonbloom and unlike the Diamonds believe, are entirely peaceful and have no real interest in dominating the cosmos. They love nature and live in harmony outside the reach of other sentient life." A bright light shone over the three and Jasper smiled. "Here we are."

The sun shone brightly over the starry skies of Dragonbloom, welcoming Jasper, Helio and their child to the view of the open lush landscapes that spread before them. The two descended to the ground and landed on the soft grasslands, smiling as giant dandelion-like plants peppered its petals over them, bringing a hearty laugh to Jasper Helio had never seen before.

Helio was awestruck as they roamed the grasslands, his smile quickly dying as he saw the corpse of a gigantic dragon lying nearby. "Jasper …"

Jasper turned as she heard him and her heart sank as she recognized the beast, quickly running up to it when she saw another to her right. "Nubias, Livar …" She ran off, leaving Blood in Helio's arms.

Jasper ran up to Nubias and placed her hand on his neck, failing to get a pulse or an energy signature from him; he was gone. Horror spread on her face as she checked on Livar, sensing nothing from him as well, and she ran on, seeing body after body littering the grasslands behind rocks and under trees that she didn't notice before. She came to a stop as she came upon an opening, her knees giving way as she found the carcass of a large round dragon lying amongst her dead younglings.

Tears streamed down Jasper's face and she wept bitterly, kneeling midst those whom she called family as they laid dead around her. Helio came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking around and wondering what had happened to the dragons. She trembled as her crying slowly died down and tried to think, looking around and searching out to see if she could sense anyone's energy signatures.

"I'm sorry, Jasper." Helio said. "We'll find a way to –,"

"It's all over." Jasper cut him off. "Everyone's gone; they're all dead. All my armies, and now this …"

Helio sighed, looking to Blood started to grow worried, and he turned to her. "Who could have done this?"

"I don't know …" She tried to think, slowly composing herself. "I don't think there's anyone strong enough to even face them yet along massacre all of them."

"… Well, we need to try and figure out what happened here." Helio stood and walked toward a body. "We can –,"

"Wait." Jasper cut him off again, sensing something and rising to her feet. "Someone's still alive around here." She turned to her left and saw a massive black mountain in the distance. "The Elder!" Her face brightened up and she ran off. "Follow me!"

* * *

AMETHYST SAT beside Beryl at the fireplace, watching as more Amethysts arrived and joined the rest of the Famethyst as they geared up outside of Region White's inner city. A smile spread on Amethyst's face as she saw Lion sitting amongst 8XG, 8XL and 8XJ and she looked to Zenoth, her mind becoming more suspicious of him as she couldn't really sense his energy very well.

"You haven't really changed much at all have you?" Beryl said as he added logs to the fire. "You still dress inappropriately for combat."

"I probably dress inappropriately in general, at least according to Pearl." Amethyst shrugged. "Nobody's really changed much honestly."

Beryl chuckled. "Yeah."

"I'm surprised you kept the name I gave you guys – didn't I make it up while I was drunk or something?"

"Well, nobody could come up with something new, so we stuck to it." He said. "Besides, we needed something to remember you by."

She smiled. "And I remembered you …" She drew out her locket and opened it, revealing an old picture of her and Beryl.

He froze in surprise upon seeing this, looking to Amethyst. "It was so long ago."

"I never forgot about you." She laughed slightly. "I thought you died when we got separated and I tried to move on, but I couldn't let go … and here you are."

He hesitated. "… But **_I_** moved on."

Amethyst frowned. "But –,"

"Beryl." Tanzanite called as she arrived, realizing that she'd interrupted the two, and she awkwardly continued. "The scouts have returned and Zenoth wants to discuss the rest of the plan."

"Thanks, Tan." Beryl said and got to his feet, following her and leaving Amethyst behind.

Amethyst watched the two leave and tried to piece together what was happening, unsure of how to feel about what Beryl said. Shaking herself out of it, she went up to where the rest of the Famethyst had gathered and sat by herself away from Beryl, paying no heed to some of the amethysts who looked at her curiously. Zenoth, the large yellow-skinned man with white hair garbed in black and white armor with a large sword holstered on his back, walked up to the group while reading a holo-map of Region White's inner city.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's go over our plans one last time to invade the city and kill Yellow Diamond." Zenoth said.

"Wait, you wanna do what?!" Amethyst interjected.

"We're going to take out Yellow Diamond." Zenoth turned to her. "Try and keep up, I thought Beryl filled you in on this."

"You can't just attack Yellow Diamond; she'll kill you." Amethyst stood up.

"We've planned this out for months; we're know what we're doing." An amethyst said. "The fuck are you to come and start telling us how we do things around here anyway."

"We know the weaknesses in the city's defenses and once we've surrounded Yellow Diamond, killing her won't be a problem." Zenoth explained.

Amethyst blinked, completely stunned. "You're retarded, right? You honestly think you can fucking attack one of those big bitches and it'll be easy? Most of you don't have the energy level of a fucking captain for shit's sake!"

"Now, Amethyst, just calm down and hear him out." Beryl said.

"Oh, fuck off, Beryl." Amethyst snapped at him, turning to Zenoth. "You're gonna get yourselves killed."

Zenoth dismissed the holo-map and walked up to Amethyst, standing over her. "Who are you exactly?"

"I'm Amethyst, I started this group before the Crystal Gems left Home World." Amethyst crossed her arms. "And who are you, asshole?"

"I saved these gems from being executed and have led them up to this point." Zenoth said. "I can respect what you've done for them in the past, but interrupt me again and it'll be the last time you speak."

"Ooh, someone sure is full of themselves, huh?" Amethyst laughed and Beryl grabbed her by the arm, taking her away from the others and further into the woods.

"What the hell are you doing?" Beryl said to Amethyst in a hushed voice, looking back to the others and seeing Zenoth continue talking to the rest of the group.

"How can you move on from me? **_Me_**?!" Amethyst yelled.

"Amethyst, this is not the time for this." He replied, still keeping his voice low. "We can discuss this after the operation's over."

"No, no, we're discussing this now." She said, becoming infuriated. "I thought we had something special going on and what? You just toss it all aside after we get split for a couple years?"

"It's been forty years!" He frowned. "You know what, fuck it, I would've broken up with you even if we didn't split up; you've been a selfish asshole from day one and you don't care about anyone but yourself! You just do what you want and fuck who you want, and you don't care who it affects in the end."

Amethyst tried to respond, but hesitated, unsure of what to say. "Beryl –,"

"I don't have time for this." Beryl said, starting to leave. "If you want to help then fine, but if you're not, then just go."

Amethyst watched Beryl return to the others and thought over what he said when Zenoth's voice cut her thoughts. "Alright, let's move!" He said and the group began to disperse, making Amethyst panic as they started to gear up and started heading for the inner city!

* * *

RUBY WATCHED Nalar as he walked, smiling softly as he hadn't limped once since they left Rubytopia behind and continued through the desert. "What?" He finally noticed her staring, gaining a wider grin from her.

"You're looking strong for once!" Ruby said. "And you wanted me to just leave you behind."

"We can't celebrate just yet; we haven't found Sphalerite's home." Nalar said. "Though I can sense we're drawing closer to it."

"See? Things are working out for a change!" Ruby tapped his shoulder. "Come on, smile for once; we're gonna make it."

He huffed and looked at her, at the relief and elation on her face, and he smiled a little. "I guess we can be happy about something." He continued on then glanced behind him, seeing nothing but sand stretching out almost endlessly. "Do you think we'll meet them again?"

"Litter and Twig? I hope so, they were kinda interesting to me." She said. "And they were pretty damn tall too – I thought rubies were all below five-foot-six, but I guess I was wrong."

"I guess some gem mutations work out better than others." He said, looking to the starry sky.

Ruby looked at Nalar and sensed he was getting down again, moving up to him. "Don't worry about it, alright?" She draped her arm over his shoulder. "Look, when we help get you healed, why don't you join the Crystal Gems?"

"What?"

"You should join us." She repeated. "Once you've got your energy back, you could help us take on the Diamonds and stop them for good – plus, we could use the extra hands even if you're not much of a fighter. I'm not and they still keep me around."

"No, I wouldn't want to drag you guys down." Nalar said.

"Well, I want you to join us." Ruby insisted. "And when this's all over, we can do whatever you wanna do, you and me. We both deserve a break after all we've been through."

Nalar searched his mind, unsure of the proposal, and he looked back at Ruby who smiled at him reassuringly, getting lost in her warm maroon eyes. He tried to speak when jagged hand burst through his stomach, impaling him cleanly from his back and drawing out blood! Ruby withdrew in shock and saw a Mossling slowly forming from the ground behind Nalar, digging its arm into his body!

Ruby reacted quickly and shot a fireball through the creature, disintegrating it, and she ran to Nalar's side when another Mossling came at her from behind and slashed her right arm clean off! She screamed in pain as her blood gushed out of her socket and the beast kicked her down, extending its grotesque twisted arm as it stalked toward her. Fighting the pain, Ruby punched through the ground with her remaining arm and sent fire beneath the monster, sending it out like a geyser and incinerating it completely!

Ruby breathed heavily as she continued to bleed out and she quickly tried to focus as she was close to passing out, slowly healing herself. Gritting her teeth, she reformed her arm and exhaled in relief as she clenched her right fist and felt her strength return, standing up and rushing to Nalar who was bent over on the ground.

"Nalar!" Ruby slowly turned him over, seeing his skin rapidly becoming pale. "Nalar?"

"Sph … Ruby, I –," He coughed out blood, balling up even more.

Ruby started to panic and she tried to summon a healing sphere over him, frowning as only sparks spurted from her hands. "Shit!" She huffed, regretting not learning how to heal all this time. "Nalar, just hang on, I can go back to Litter and the others."

"Sphalerite …" Nalar finally managed, pushing himself up and covering the whole over his stomach. "I can sense her nearby …"

Ruby looked around, seeing nothing but desert all around, and she frowned, turning back to Nalar. "Let's go find her then."

Holding him up as carefully as she could, Ruby helped Nalar stand and the two continued walking through the desert. "We're gonna be fine, just hang on."

* * *

JASPER LAID her hand on the side of a young grey dragon that lay on a path carved into the side of Black Mount that she and Helio walked upon, the high-pitched cries of the child echoing in her mind from when she last saw him coming back to her. Helio watched as Jasper looked over the body and he looked to Blood Quartz who stretched his arm out to her, sensing his mother's grief even though he didn't understand what was going on.

"Maybe we should just go back." Helio said.

"I can't."

"You've stopped by every single body as we've gone up this mountain; you shouldn't be seeing this." He walked up to her.

Jasper paused and stared at the corpse for a moment, slowly taking her hand off it and turning back to Helio. "Let's keep going." She walked off.

Helio followed her as she went on, noting her faster pace and realizing that she moved past another body without batting an eye. Shaking himself out of it, he looked at his readings on his gauntlet and huffed, catching up with Jasper. "Seems my fears were correct; the gravity here is much stronger than on Home World." He said. "There's no way we can fly."

"It hasn't normally been like this." She said. "The planet is changing."

He looked to the grasslands below, at the corpses that littered the ground. "Maybe we should call this off."

"What're you talking about?" She stopped and turned to him.

"The mission; we can't stop the Diamonds like this." He said. "We've lost our forces and now our last chance to get more power is gone as well. Maybe we should just give up on Home World."

"I'm not going to let the Diamonds get away with what they've done." She said, growing agitated. "I will stop them."

"And what is our plan exactly? Because we're out of options here."

"We find the Elder then I'll take it from there." She said. "I've planned for many years to get to this moment; I'm not giving up now."

Jasper continued up the mountain and Helio huffed, following her. "Who is this 'Elder' anyway?" He asked.

"The Elder Dragon is the guardian leader and father of all Star Dragons, the most powerful of them all; an old and wise ruler." Jasper explained. "He was more of a father to me than my real one was."

The two made their way up Black Mount, drawing closer to the summit, and the presence Jasper felt became more clear and unmistakable for Helio. He wondered however as they went on why the energy he sensed seemed frail and weak, much less imposing than what he'd expect from a being fabled to be stronger than a Diamond. He tried to search his mind when a tremor shook the mountain, almost knocking him and Jasper off their feet!

"What was that?" Jasper looked to Helio when a more powerful quake ripped through the mountain, causing a landslide behind them that destroyed the path behind them!

The two watched in confusion as the quakes continued and looked down below to see a massive crack tear through the valley, letting lava leak out as the core of the planet was slowly exposed! They continued their way up the mountain more quickly when the rocks beneath Helio gave way, sending him falling off the path when Jasper caught him by the arm at the last second! Helio looked up to Jasper, catching his breath as she pulled him up when he realized that Blood had fallen out of his grip, looking down to see the baby plummeting to the lava below!

"Blood!" Jasper cried in terror and Helio jumped down, diving toward the lava and after Blood!

* * *

ZENOTH CROUCHED upon a treetop in the forest surrounding Region White's inner city and closely watched the guards patrolling the city: some of whom flew about inside armored suits, others that road on Quadrabeasts (four-armed gorilla-like monsters) and a few roaming on foot. He listened closely as he connected to the Famethyst gems via telepathic link he'd set up and he waited for his moment to step in, clutching at the hilt of his sword and ready to move out.

An explosion ripped through a building to his far right, drawing the gem guards' attention, and Zenoth recognized the signal, getting to his feet and drawing out his sword. Chanting a spell, the man charged a massive energy pulse and fired it at a lookout tower that stood outside the town, causing it to explode and rapidly collapse, making the guards scramble even more as they tried to put out the fires. Seeing their panic, he leapt off the tree and ran toward the city, covering hundreds of meters in seconds and cutting down a gem guard he came across and entering a street.

Zenoth shook the blood off his blade and looked around as civilians fled in a panic upon seeing the guard's body on the ground, turning to his left to see Beryl, Tanzanite, Amethyst and Lion enter the street. "How's it looking out there?" He asked, moving up to them.

"The guards were on their usual patrol route like we anticipated, so they were easy to take out." Beryl said.

"Their backup should be on its way in a few seconds." Tanzanite said.

"Alright, lay down the circles and proceed as planned – I'll go on ahead and sweep the streets." Zenoth said, speeding off.

"You heard the captain, let's move." Beryl said to Tanzanite who nodded and ran off. He drew out a mallet holstered on his back and headed for the next street when he saw Amethyst simply looking around. "What're you doing?"

"This isn't gonna work; the Diamonds or their captains will be on us and it'll be all over." Amethyst said. Beryl frowned and walked off, completely ignoring her, and Amethyst huffed as Lion joined the others as they engaged the gem guards on the ground, wondering what she should do next.

Elsewhere in the city, Zenoth locked blades with a gem guard and cut him down, chucking his sword into the air and tearing through a Home World ship that came flying toward him, downing the vessel instantly and sending it plummeting to the road below! Summoning the weapon back to him via small portal, he moved further through the street and looked to his right to see an amethyst laying a small round machine on the ground.

Sheathing his sword, Zenoth contacted the others telepathically. "Alright, light it up!"

Nodding, the amethyst pressed a button on the machine and it came to life, releasing a beam of light that shot into the sky! Several Famethyst gems activated other such devices throughout the city, sending out light beams that shot up and curved to a point, spreading outward and creating a photonic dome over the buildings beneath! Magical symbols appeared on the barrier and the gem soldiers below began to panic as their powers began to fluctuate, allowing the Famethyst to take them out with ease.

Zenoth smiled as the battle quickly shifted in their favor, turning his attention to White Diamond's egg-shaped laboratory building that peaked in the distance when an energy blast hit him in the back, sending him flying into a vehicle nearby! Pulling himself out of the wreckage, he looked up and frowned as he saw a woman with a spear sheathed on her back and her six lieutenants arrive, recognizing her and drawing out his sword.

"Seriously? You repay us for sparing you with this?" The woman said.

"You know I couldn't just sit by and let you get away with this." Zenoth frowned. "It's over, Gold."

"That's Gold Diamond to you!" She groaned. "Kids these days, no respect whatsoever." She turned to her lieutenants. "Kill them all."

A loud surge erupted behind Zenoth and he turned to see the barrier collapsing as a gem guard destroyed a projector! Seeing the Famethyst quickly get surrounded by Home World soldiers, he ran to their aid when Gold Diamond tackled him, grabbing him by the neck and pinning against a building! He struggled to break out of her grip and she punched him in the gut, causing a shockwave that obliterated the skyscraper behind him, and she pinned him against the ground!

"What happened to you? All these years and you've only gotten weaker? Pathetic!" Gold frowned.

Zenoth grunted as she tightened her grip and he turned to see an amethyst get cut down by one of her lieutenants. "No!"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, piss ant!" Gold Diamond yelled, picking him up with one arm and tossing him at a shop opposite her, destroying the building and sending him barreling into the ground and tearing up the next street!

Amethyst dodged falling debris as buildings collapsed from Zenoth's crash and she sidestepped as an armored vehicle fired a laser turret at her! Reacting quickly, she drew out her whip, lassoed a nearby rock and smashed it onto the truck's roof, destroying it! She withdrew the weapon and ran off when she heard a laser blast behind her, looking back to see a gem guard gunning down Tanzanite!

She watched Beryl retaliate against the guard in rage and she looked to her left, seeing three Home World ships drawing in on them.

Nearby, Zenoth pulled himself out of a heap of rubble and witnessed his plan fall to pieces with the arrival of Gold Diamond and her forces who cut down Famethyst members left and right. He tried to contact those that remained telepathically when the Diamond came crashing down on him with her spear, digging the blade deep in his side and drawing blood from his mouth!

"I should kill you here and now for disgracing us, but …" She withdrew her weapon, enjoying seeing him writhe as she tore it out of his flesh. "It'd be too easy killing you when you're barely as strong as you used to be." She turned to a lieutenant that shot down an amethyst nearby. "Toss him and the remainder of his cohorts out of the city." She looked back to him. "If you dare show your face around here again, I won't show you any mercy." With that, she cracked the handle of her spear across his face, knocking him out!

* * *

COLD WINDS swept through the patchy desert in Region White as midnight drew closer, making it difficult for Ruby as Nalar stumbled by every gust as he got weaker and weaker. His blood slowly drenched his body and left his footsteps red in the sand behind him, making Ruby wonder if they'd ever make it in time. As they moved on however, a small building began to peak in the distance, giving Ruby hope.

"Is that it?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, it's –," Nalar tried to speak when he fell over.

"Nalar –," Ruby went to his side when she saw that his legs were slowly turning to ash! "What the?"

Nalar laughed weakly and turned himself on his back, looking up at the sky. "I guess my time's … up now."

"What? But I thought Litter shared her energy with you." She said.

"I was never … going to make it." He coughed out blood, struggling to speak. "I led you here so … so the Moss wouldn't find you, but I guess … even that didn't work."

"But we're so close; I can see Sphalerite's house right there!" She said. "Come on, I can carry you there if you can't –," She reached for his arm, but it disintegrated in her hands!

He smiled wistfully. "I can tell that Leggy isn't alive anymore, so maybe I can finally see her again."

"No, no, I can take you there right now, just hang on." She held his hand.

Nalar's skin paled even more rapidly than before, turning completely gray, and he turned to her as his strength waned. "Thank you for helping me, Ruby …"

"Nalar …?" Ruby's eyes dilated as his hand crumbled and ran between her fingers. "Nalar!" She tried to shake him, but got no response, beginning to panic as his body began to fade away.

The cold winds carried Nalar's ashes as he completely collapsed and Ruby wept as she saw Nalar's face fall apart as he turned to dust. His ashes spread over the ground around her and she shut her eyes as there was nothing she could do to stop it when she felt warmth suddenly spread over her! She looked forward and jerked back in surprise as a healing light sphere slowly spread around her and Nalar's remains.

She turned to her left and saw a tall figure approaching them. "Bismuth?"

* * *

And chapter 5 is done!

I'd honestly planned on killing off Nalar from his inception, but I figured I'd go against my instincts and let him live. I think there's some potential to be explored between him and Ruby, so I think I'll let him stick around. It also created the perfect moment to bring up Bismuth after all this time, so it worked out I guess.

Don't forget to follow us so you don't miss our next chapter "Old Names, Old Faces." If you liked the chapter, check out our Deviantart or Tumblr ( [realdoneuniverse](https://www.deviantart.com/realdoneuniverse)) for our character designs!

Thanks for reading.


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